World Shaking
by Nutzoide
Summary: Sequel to 'Fallen Stars' and 'Shooting for the Moon'. With the new youma dealt with the senshi try and get back to their newly complicated lives as best they can, even as another dark force begins to bring its plans to fruition under their very noses.
1. Leaving the Nest

World Shaking: Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Sailor Moon or anything that comprises it. This is a non-profit story written solely for my own enjoyment and that of anyone who wishes to read it. The story and original characters are mine. Please don't use them without permission.

Story notes: This is the second sequel to my previous story Fallen Stars, and picks up soon after the end of the first sequel: Shooting for the Moon. Having gone back to read those two stories it's clear that both are showing their age, but even so there was still more that I wanted to do in this continuity, so here we are. As before, lesbian relationships are abundant and if you haven't read the previous two stories then the current situations the characters are in won't make much sense.

000

World Shaking

- A Sailor Moon Fan-Fiction by Nutzoide -

Chapter 1: Leaving the Nest.

Home is Where the Heart Should Be.

It seemed to be written in Tsukino Usagi's stars that whenever there was an important event in her life, or in the lives of her few closest friends, she would always be late for it. As surely as the Moon would circle the Earth, Usagi would arrive in a tornado of apologies and gasps having missed the start, be it her college entrance exams or the chance to help one of her friends move house.

Today was the latter. It had been a long time in coming, but Ami was finally moving out of her mother's apartment. To make it even more memorable, she would be moving into the large and expensive Meioh-Kaioh-Tenoh house, and into a strange not-quite-three-way relationship that Usagi didn't really understand very well.

It went a little like this.

Tenoh Haruka and Kaioh Michiru were lovers, and had been for as long as Usagi had known them. Thanks to a strange twist of supernatural events - including all sorts of magic, reincarnation and pre-destiny - they had come to consider the now teenaged Tomoe Hotaru as their adopted daughter, despite the fact that Haruka and Michiru were only twenty two years old themselves. The third adult member of their unofficial family, Meioh Setsuna, was now the not-so-legal guardian of all three by virtue of her age, her wisdom, and the aura of authority that followed her around like an affectionate ghostly cat. Not to mention the fact that she could present herself as all-knowing at the drop of a hat, thanks to the time-space shenanigans that came with her share of the magical destiny stuff.

Then an irate space-faring bird woman - also magical, would you believe it - banished Haruka to another world for a bit, along with Usagi's closest friends and fellow super-heroines, of whom Mizuno Ami was one. Thanks to loneliness, home-sickness and magical trauma (of an entirely different magical variety this time), Ami and Haruka found themselves falling for one another while away, culminating in a slightly intoxicated but much needed night together for the both of them. Though they decided to leave it at that the morning after, fate - and a certain demon Hino Rei had accidentally conjured up - would not let them get away so easily. Now they were back in their own world Michiru knew about the affair, thanks to Haruka's guilty admission over keeping the secret, and Haruka was now carrying Ami's child by way of that entirely different magic and the aforementioned demon's perverse sense of humour.

To make it even *stranger* neither Michiru or Ami had been able - or maybe willing - to take Haruka for her own. By the time they had all dealt with and finally befriended some unfortunate refugees from the dispossessed Dark Kingdom the pair had stopped competing for Haruka's heart and, somehow, reached a truce. They had to work with each other as the Sailor Senshi - magical soldiers of love and justice - so they had to live with each other as well. And because of the understanding they had come to, they were going to do that quite literally.

No wonder the whole thing made Usagi's head hurt. It was hard enough for her being Mamoru's fiancee, and he was as understanding as any man could hope to be.

Still, Usagi was as understanding as any woman could hope to be as well, when it mattered. There had been too much heartache already, so seeing everyone getting back to their normal selves was more than she could have hoped for. Even if it took a very large and unconventional household in order to manage it.

When Usagi did finally arrive at the condo complex the move was in full swing. Both Haruka and Setsuna had brought their own cars (Haruka's was actually a rental, having had her convertible totalled by a youma attack – the insurance company hadn't been willing to cover something like that) while a dozen or more boxes lined the pavement outside. It looked like a lot of stuff for Ami, but wouldn't have been a quarter of Usagi's own possessions.

"Usagi-san! You're late!"

Hotaru, looking chipper in her deep violet sun dress and white hat, waved to her as Usagi screeched to a halt.

Even before taking her first gasping breath Usagi dropped into a deep bow.

"I'm really sorry for being late I meant to get here to help you all carry things but I forgot to set my alarm clock even though I don't have classes today and Mamo-chan is at work so he didn't wake me and I had to have breakfast or I would have starved before I got here and I went to feed Luna except I forgot that she doesn't live with me any more because I was sleepy and I'm sorry! Please forgive me!"

Everyone there stopped to look at her in amusement, including several of the passers by and one invasive celebrity photographer.

"That's our dumpling for you," Haruka said, using the fond nickname that she and Mamoru shared for Usagi.

"I'm amazed she managed that without passing out," the astonished photographer said.

"She's had practice," Michiru replied, still holding a box she had brought down from the apartment above. "She has the lung capacity of an opera singer. By the way, would you mind moving? These books are heavy."

"Oh, of course," he said, and he took the box from her in a fit of gentlemanliness, forgetting for a moment that he was there for a story and not to help them pack.

Standing apart from them Ami simply smiled. "That's alright Usagi-chan. We forgive you. We know what you're like."

Usagi panted for a moment before pouting at her. "Ami-chan, you're mean."

"And you are hopeless at timekeeping," Ami replied with a friendly smile. "As always. But thank you for coming."

Looking around a moment, Usagi could see why Ami might have been grateful. "Ami-chan, isn't your mother here?"

Ami shook her head. "It's midday. Her shift at the hospital will be starting in an hour. You just missed her."

Usagi pouted again, this time in sympathy. "That's so sad. She can't be here to see you off?"

Ami didn't seem to mind as much though. "We said goodbye and had a hug, and she has important work to do. It isn't as though I won't be back to see her."

"It's only a short trip across town, after all," Setsuna added.

The photographer gave Usagi a friendly smile. "And I caught the moment for posterity, so don't worry, Usagi-san."

Usagi's eyes shined in anticipation. "Can I have a print?"

"Certainly. If you just give me the address you'd like it posted to..."

Haruka interposed herself between Usagi and the man's lens. "That's *Tsukino-san* to you. And you can post anything you have to us. We will make sure she receives it."

The photographer sighed. "Tenoh-san, so cold. That doesn't befit a pregnant lady. Now, if only you would say something about these living arrangements-"

"No."

"But Tenoh-san, think of the good publicity for the gay and lesbian community if you only explained a little."

It was now Michiru's turn to interpose herself into the conversation. She took Haruka's hand, as much as a show of public solidarity as for Haruka's benefit. "We have said everything that needs to be said, Karasuro-san. The gay community knows that Meioh-san has been living under the same roof as Haruka and myself for years. Despite our past disagreement, which we have both put behind us, Mizuno-san coming to live with us should not provoke this kind of finger pointing and scandal mongering."

Usagi knew that Ami had her own story to tell as well, as she did so without betraying a thing.

"And it is the perfect chance to study pregnancy on a day to day level," she said, every inch the inquisitive medical student. "The fact that it could be with a friend like Tenoh-san is simply a bonus."

The photographer wilted, and it was clear that he wanted more to write about than that. "And the donor-"

He was suddenly made aware that Setsuna was behind him when she spoke, her voice as mystical and prophetic as ever. "-wishes to remain anonymous."

Yes, Ami did wish to remain anonymous. At least as far as the media were concerned. Like Hotaru Ami did not enjoy the public eye that Haruka and Michiru lived under. Usagi herslf had lost her own desire for celebrity after that eye had turned on her and her friends over their banishment and subsequent return from the alternate world of Seiji, and the mess that had been stirred up when Michiru had first confronted Ami.

Now, Usagi was all too happy to remain normal and content instead of popular and forever cautious, and she was determined to help Ami and Hotaru stay that way too.

"Come on, Ami-chan, Hotaru-chan. We have work to do! And you still haven't told me about Haruka's ultrasound!"

"Well, there really wasn't much to see," Hotaru said, taking one of the lighter boxes of clothing. "Even if it's going to be my little brother or sister, it just looked like a black oval shape."

"You couldn't see little baby hands?"

Ami shook her head. "Usagi-chan, she was only six weeks along. Some doctors say that it isn't worth getting an ultrasound that early. The baby is still too young an embryo, so all they were really checking was whether it was viable. Being in-vitro, sort of, and everything that goes with that."

"Viable? In-vitro?" Usagi thought that those were very cold words to use for Haruka's baby. Especially since Ami was the 'other mother'. "Can't you just say she's pregnant and it's great?"

Ami smiled, but of course she couldn't say that in the way she wanted to, no matter how she agreed. At least not in public. "You're right, Usgai-chan. It is wonderful. But I also have to be analytical about it, remember? This is research."

But whatever she said for the sake of the reporter, her smile let Usagi know how she felt. She was almost giddy, and for Usagi any giddiness from her friends was immediately contracted.

"Ahh, who cares about school today? It's our day off classes, so forget it! We've got moving to do!"

She bent down to grab a box of books marked 'Biology' in black marker, and failed to lift it. "Wha..? These are heavy? Why do Rei-chan and everyone else have to have work and classes! They ought to be helping too!"

Haruka left the reporter taking his inane photos and came to help out. "That just means you'll have to knuckle down, eh, dumpling?"

Usagi watched, appalled as Haruka lifted the 'Philosophy' box next to hers. "Haruka-san! You're not supposed to be lifting heavy things!"

Haruka gave her an annoyed look. "Only six weeks, Usagi-chan. I'm fine."

Then, to Usagi's relief, both Ami and Michiru came to take the box from her.

"You didn't sound so 'fine' after breakfast, love."

"And the increased blood flow to the baby will still take its toll, Haruka-san. Even at six weeks. *That's* why you're tired."

Haruka just stared at them both in disbelief. "Usagi-chan? Please don't get them teaming up on me."

"Heh heh, sorry."

"Or is it that you want me all to yourself?"

Usagi blanched, and then blushed in pure reflex. The rakish woman was making trouble again. "H-Haruka-san... They can hear you..."

Hotaru picked up another box of clothing before going over to commiserate with her adoptive 'father'. "Don't worry about them, Haruka-papa. You can help me with these instead."

It was true that the boxes were a little on the bulky side for the slender girl to manage alone, so after giving Usagi a wink Haruka went to help her. Then a camera flash went off in her direction, capturing the 'father'-daughter moment so that the world could see it the next day.

"You can get lost and all! And take your camera with you!"

000

At the same time, on the roof of a house on the less affluent side of Tokyo's Juuban district, a white tom cat with a peculiar crescent of yellow fur on his brow lay stretched out and basking in the warm, early autumn sun. He was the kind of cat that got called lazy by his owners, mainly because that's exactly what he was. For his own part though, Artemis preferred to describe himself as relaxed.

Next to him sat his once and future mate, Luna. She was, both physically and in attitude, as different from Artemis as it was possible for another talking cat to be. He was white furred, Luna was black. He was lazy, she pro-active. He was carefree, and she was concerned.

Somewhere down the line they would realise that made them a perfect match. But not today.

"Can't you at least show a little interest?" Luna asked. "I would have thought spending a month with your front leg in a cast would have made you want to spend less time lying around. Didn't you say you were getting cabin fever?"

Artemis nodded, and rolled over to bare the other side of his stomach to the warm rays. "And now I'm out of the cabin and in the fresh air. How can you not enjoy this, Luna?"

"I thought you wanted to talk strategy, not take in the sun."

"I can't do both?"

Luna sighed. "You might be a little more dignified about it."

The white cat rolled back over to look at her. "Okay. So let's talk. What do you want to talk about?"

Luna's whiskers twitched. "*You* called *me* over."

"Because you wanted an excuse not to help Ami-chan move."

Yes, there was that.

"Well, it is not as though I could be of any assistance anyway. We felines are not known for our furniture moving skills."

Artemis tilted his head in a question. "It would have been good moral support though. The only reason Minako isn't there is because her agent is coming out of hospital today. Hopefully."

It was hard for Luna to deal with Artemis when he was right. "I know, alright? But Usagi will be a better moral support than any old cat."

"Old? Who's old?" Artemis took on a gentler tone of voice. "You're not still sore about Ami-chan getting involved with Haruka-san are you?"

"I was never sore!" Luna retorted. "I am worried, that's all. I don't want to see our team fragmenting and I don't want them to start turning on each or because of who is or is not infatuated with who when they *all* need one another. I told them as much. You were there."

Artemis knew it, and what's more he shared her concerns, but they did not prey on his mind the way they did on the feline he himself was infatuated with. "I don't think they'll end up going that far, Luna. And they are old enough to make their own mistakes. They have lives to live as well as their duties as Senshi. If those lives are a little more complicated and intertwined right now then it'll be a good learning experience for them. Better now than in a hundred years, while fights and misfortunes are still easily forgotten."

Luna gave him a curious, slightly warning look. "Are you saying that those of us from Serenity's old court are now grudge holders?"

Artemis gave her a shrug and a weak smile. "In six years you haven't forgiven me for pretending to be 'Central Control'."

Luna blinked at the unexpected answer. "... Of course I have. I had forgotten about it until now."

"Liar." Artemis winked at her. "But if you're worried about them you could just talk to Pluto. She seems to be unusually accepting of Ami-chan's newfound place in their household, don't you think? Do you think she would have remained quiet if it was going to be a real mistake?"

Luna dropped her head. "She might. Pluto has made far worse sacrifices for the sake of her future goals."

"Now you've got *me* worried," Artemis said. "Just trust them. Ami-chan, Haruka-san and Michiru-san know their own hearts better than we do."

"And Rei-chan and Makoto-chan?"

Artemis smiled at that one, and rolled onto his back again. "There I have no complaints. They won't forget the others so easily, and they're more than happy enough."

This time Luna had to agree. "Yes, I should be grateful for that at least. How is Minako-chan holding up with all the fresh romance in the air?"

"Mina?" Artemis laughed. "You know her. She spends half her time bemoaning the fact that she's the only one still single - besides Setsuna-san and Hotaru-chan of course - and the other half being too tired to think of pampering anyone but herself, let alone a needy boyfriend. How about Usagi-chan? I can see her taking it all in her stride."

"That seems to be the case. For as much as I see her these days, anyway. After the shock of her friends deciding to fall for *each other* had worn off, she was overjoyed for them. And with Usagi that certainly didn't take long."

"And Mamoru-san?" Artemis enquired.

There Luna had to shrug. "Honestly? I don't know, but I think he's as confused by it all as I am."

000

Hakano Mikiyo, agent to many a young starlet over the years, had never had a client quite like Aino Minako before. Like many in her line of work Minako was always overworked and mostly underpaid during those lucky months when she was actually working, but unlike most of them Minako seemed to revel in the exhaustion. She didn't whine, she didn't mean it when she pouted, and she never raised her voice in protest that her skills as an 'artist' were being undervalued. At least not in public anyway.

Minako also had the energy to make good on her enthusiasm, and the confidence not to be stepped on by the more conniving starlets or directors around her. When Minako had first come to her Mikiyo had thought she was all gloss and no stomach, but Minako had proved her wrong. She had stuck with the poor hours and inconsistent pay and now, thanks to some very good and very bad luck, she might well become a household name.

Aino Minako was also unique in that none of Mikiyo's other starlets had ever put her in hospital before, even if it had been indirectly. It certainly wasn't hurting Minako's career that she was on public first name terms with at least one of the Sailor Senshi, but that was also the reason Mikiyo was lying in her third hospital bed in as many weeks, waiting for yet another diagnosis.

At least Minako had the moral fibre to be there with her for this one.

"Oh, stop looking like such a worry-mole, Mikiyo-san! I'm sure they just want Mizuno-sensei to multi-tuple-check a few things and then you'll be able to go home. I mean, you're fine! What else can they do to you to make you finer? I mean, you used to be a model too when you were young, so even plastic surgery wouldn't be worth it."

On reflection, Minako's idea of moral support could have done with toning down a notch. Or seven. Maybe tone down the entire Swiss army knife, before she hurt herself with it.

Mikiyo sighed. At least she meant well. Minako always did, and that was a rare virtue in her experience. "Thanks, I think. But I'm not old yet."

"Of course not! You're just older than me, or you'd be the star and I'd be the agent. I hope."

"Maybe so." Mikiyo decided that the topic needed changing to one that wasn't age related. She wasn't sore, but it still wasn't nice to be reminded that the fashion industry considered her past her prime. "I was reading that you were getting involved in Kaioh-san's latest little predicament."

Minako nodded. "Of course. The whole thing is stupid. Did you know Michiru-san was finally thinking of putting up a painting for the Revelations exhibition, her first painting since Haruka-san came back, and now she's not going to because it wouldn't be 'appropriate'?"

It probably wouldn't have been appropriate to some, but Mikiyo was more surprised that such a thing would have put Kaioh Michiru off. While hers was an entirely different circle of celebrity than the one Mikiyo travelled in, Kaioh Michiru was well known for her unapologetic stances on her life, art and music. "That is unfortunate, but what I meant was you skipping your own rehearsals to stand up for people who are quite capable of standing up for themselves. Four weeks isn't long to pick up a full stage role like yours, Minako-chan."

"I know," Minako admitted, "and I know you worked hard to get me that part, even from hospital. But I've got the script down flat, and I've still got two weeks to learn the choreography. I'll be fine."

"Says the girl with the most gymnastic part in the whole play. I got a call from the organiser you know. He says you haven't got the first part finale right once yet."

"I can do it! It's just not everyday I need to springboard on stage and backflip fifteen feet just for a final pose! That choreographer is a sadist."

Mikiyo gave her a look that tried to be stern, but was laced with her own amusement at Minako's pouting. "Well you *will* have to do it every day until you get it right, and then every day while the show is running. I warned you that you'd be replacing a professional gymnast."

Then she gave the ambitious girl a smile. "And I wouldn't have tried to get the part for you if I didn't think you could do it. This is the perfect chance, and it's come just when you've left people wanting more of you. So no more shirking, or Hanzo-san *will* fire you even if he can't afford to. Dress rehearsals start next week, so try and be ready then, okay?"

Minako nodded, smiling confidently. "Okay! I'll show them what the Minako of Love can do in just one week!"

It was then that the doctor finally appeared, clipboard in her hand. "You do that Minako-chan, but do remember there are people in this hospital who need their rest, hm?"

Minako blushed at her faux pas and nodded. "Sorry, Mizuno-sensei."

Mikiyo looked between them as doctor Mizuno smiled at them both. "You know each other, Minako-chan?"

It was Mizuno Katsura that answered. "Yes, she and my daughter have been friends since junior high school."

Minako nodded, still embarrassed and now looking a little guilty. "I'm sorry I didn't go to help Ami-chan move, Mizuno-sensei. I just..."

That surprised Mikiyo again. "You have somewhere useful to be? Why on earth are you sitting around with me? You seem to need no excuse to rush away at the drop of a hat most of the time."

She had to wonder what she didn't know when Minako and Katsura both looked uncomfortable for a moment there, quite independently of each other. The doctor didn't seem to mind Minako missing whatever had been happening though.

"That's quite alright Minako-chan. Being here with Hakano-san is just as worthy an intention. Now, Hakano-san, I would just like to ask a few final questions before we release you, and I'd like you to answer them as fully as you can please. Have you been suffering from any kind of depression since the event?"

Mikiyo shook her head. "Only cabin fever. And it was rather humiliating, being caught like that, but like I told the last shrink I don't actually remember anything from when I was... you know."

Katsura still made a note of that, while Minako wondered something. "Mizuno-sensei, how come you're the one doing this? I thought you were a bone doctor."

Katsura nodded. "I did specialise in physical rehabilitation, but I seem to have become something of an authority on cases like Mikiyo-san's as well. I've certainly seen enough transformation victims recently."

Given the recordings of the last big Sailor Senshi battle that Mikiyo had seen on the hospital's news repeats, she could believe it. "At least I wasn't the only one."

000

That night Tenoh Haruka sat smiling to herself in absurd contentment. She hadn't felt so unlike herself since she had been persuaded into that dress for her junior high dance, or when she had admitted her predilection for lingerie to Michiru.

She put her feet up on the coffee table. "I feel like an American mobster," she said, chuckling to herself. In her right arm sat Ami, and in her left, Michiru.

"So," Michiru asked in the naughty haze of the wine they had drunk with dinner, "that's makes which of us your moll?"

"I'm not married, so wouldn't you both be?"

"That's cheating, Haruka," Ami chided. It was obvious that she had drunk her fair share of wine as well. "Though I would rather not be a mistress at all. If I must be a criminal, then partners in crime is better."

"True," Michiru admitted. "The wives and mistresses always get shot."

"Butch and Sundance then?"

Michiru shook her head, and gave her girlfriend a glare. "They got shot too."

"Hmm, that's no fun. They probably would have got out of it if they'd had a third partner."

This time Ami disagreed. "They wouldn't have needed to get out of it if they hadn't been criminals to begin with. Crime doesn't pay."

Haruka agreed, to a point. "Not unless it suits the plot."

"I didn't think you watched much in the way of cinema, Ami-chan," Michiru said idly, rather than letting them argue the point.

"I don't much. I prefer a good book, but I think I ought to watch some of the classics. And American films allow me to practice my English."

"We have quite an extensive film library, foreign and otherwise, so do help yourself if you find yourself needing to pass an hour or two."

Haruka nodded. "Our foreign interview tapes are in there was well, if you need a chuckle. Though Michiru has made a lot more than me."

"I'm sure you handled them very well, both of you."

"Even at fourteen, giving an interview in English?" Michiru smiled at the memory. "I thought I would die in that chair."

Ami looked at her in surprise. "You were being interviewed that young? Wow."

Haruka nodded, proud of Michiru. "Yup. She was a bona fide prodigy. And at much the same age that you were scoring the best junior high test scores in Japan."

Ami flushed. "Yes, but..."

Haruka gave them both a squeeze, as best she could. "It seems I have quite discerning tastes."

"Haruka, don't flatter yourself," Michiru chastised. "That's my job. But yes, you do have very good taste."

Both of them looked over to Ami, but rather than playing along she was simple staring across the room as she sat cuddled up to Haruka's side.

"Ami?"

"Hmm? Oh, sorry. I guess, maybe you do."

Haruka leaned down to catch her eyes properly, since her hands were otherwise occupied. "Only maybe? I think more than maybe."

In response Ami flushed again, and Michiru giggled. "She really doesn't take flattery well, does she?"

Ami just looked down into Haruka's lap. "Sorry. I was just thinking; it's nice to be home."

"Well, it's nice to *have* you home," Haruka said.

Beside her Michiru decided that was her cue to leave. "I'm glad you feel that way, Ami-chan. And, if you'll forgive me, I think I need to follow Hotaru off to bed. Apparently my agent is on the warpath right now, so I had better be ready for him tomorrow."

But, as she stood, Ami and Haruka did the same. "Yes, I should do the same," Ami said, politely. "I have classes tomorrow morning, so I shouldn't be late. Michiru-san, thank you for dinner, and I will see you both tomorrow."

Michiru felt her pleasant smile as it slid from her face. "What... that wasn't what we agreed-"

Then Haruka took her hand and held it strongly. Michiru looked up to her in shock, completely unprepared. She had been making herself ready for weeks, mentally preparing to sleep alone on the night that Ami would join their household, and now Ami and Haruka had changed their minds?

"Haruka, you planned this?"

Haruka shook her head. "No. But I agreed to it."

Without any sign of an internal struggle Ami smiled at them both. "Michiru, I don't want to steal Haruka away from you on the very night I come to live here. That isn't why I came. It has been a tiring day, and I would like to find out how it feels just to sleep in my new bed, in my new home."

"I don't need coddling! I accepted this!"

"But it does hurt a little, I know," Ami countered. "I am going to need time to find my own space here, and I want to you know that your space is still your own."

Michiru stared at her with watering eyes, before a short surrendering laugh escaped her. That was so like Ami. "You've been over-thinking this all week, haven't you?"

"Maybe. But haven't you?"

"Touche."

"Sleep well, Michiru-san. Haruka. And thank you for taking me in."

Michiru watched helplessly as Ami bowed to them both and left for the spare room that they had spent the afternoon making Ami's own. She squeezed Haruka's hand, part in punishment and part in fondness. "You could have told me."

"I didn't want to spoil her surprise."

Michiru sighed, and wiped her eyes with her free hand. "More like a shock. You know, if she is going to let me have you tonight then I'm damn well going to make the most of you."

Haruka looked as though she didn't know whether to feel guilty or glad for that. "After she told me about this, I was hoping you would."

000

Up at the Hikawa shrine the visitors were long gone, the donation box had been emptied and the fortune stand was well and truly closed, and only now were the inhabitants finishing off their evening meal. As a collaborative effort between Grandpa Hino and Kino Makoto it was both spicy and subtly complex, and probably quite unsuited to resting in the stomach while anyone tried to sleep.

"I'm really sorry," Hino Rei apologised yet again as her grandfather sipped on his sake and her girlfriend cleaned her bowl.

"It was a good thing that you went, Rei," her grandfather said. "Even if it might have been nice to call us."

Makoto nodded in agreement. "I won't begrudge you one late dinner. As long as your friend is okay."

"She's not even my friend," Rei admitted. "She just sat behind me in class. I didn't know her name until we tried to admit her to hospital."

"But you took control and you went along to make sure she was okay, that's what matters." Grandpa Hino drained his cup. "It's important to keep your head when someone collapses. Especially in light of recent events. People get jumpy with talk of youma and demons flying every which way."

Rei nodded. "Not that I'll complain about the extra trade in prayer slips, but yeah. One girl just started screaming. Stupid."

"As long as it ended up okay," Makoto said.

Grandpa Hino nodded and got to his aching feet. "Yep, that's most important. Now if I can leave you girls to clear up, I feel like a bath before bed."

"Sure thing, Gramps. It's the least I can do for holding up dinner."

"Never mind dinner. I'm just glad nothing had happened to you."

Then, once he had left, Makoto leaned over the table. "So *was* it youma or anything?"

Rei shook her head as she finished her food. "No, she just fainted. Apparently she was on a diet or something. One meal a day."

Makoto sighed is disappointment. "Eh. No matter how thin you want to be, that's just stupid."

"I told her a much," Rei groused, though without much venom. "And I missed out on our evening because of it."

Makoto didn't mind. "Don't worry about it. I got to chat to your granddad. He's always good value for money."

"That's not how most girls describe him." Rei sighed. "Are you sure you can't stay here tonight?"

Makoto shook her head in apology. "I'm sorry, but I really shouldn't. I've been neglecting my flat enough as it is, and I have bills to deal with."

"At this hour?"

"In the morning. While you're at college. Before I have to go to work."

Rei surrendered graciously. "I guess I can't complain about how much we see each other already."

"No kidding. I clean your room more than I clean my own!"

Rei pouted. "Well you don't have to!"

"I do if I'm going to be sleeping in it!"

Rei's pout turned into a grin. "We can go over to yours then. We've only slept in your bed once!"

"Rei!"

"I'm not the one who carried me in there either, as I recall." Rei's grin only grew as Makoto flushed red. "Why the blush? It was very dashing of you. The perfect reward after I'd spent all evening working up the courage for it."

"You enjoy embarrassing me, don't you?"

"Yep."

Rei didn't notice in time to stop it before Makoto pulled her closer and kissed her. It was far too sudden a change of gear for Rei, passionate and strong, and all she could do was lean into it and let Makoto lead. That was the type of kiss that made her uncertain and tense as she dissolved into Makoto's touch, but the type that she was slowly teaching herself to accept not as a fearful relinquishing control, but as a thrill.

Makoto's smile was broad and gentle as they parted. "Now who's the one turning red?"

Rei knew she was, and she swallowed hard. Makoto was getting wise to the effect that her passionate turns could have on Rei's composure, as long as they did not cross the line. "I guess I asked for that."

Rei leaned forward again, this time to return the favour less one-sidedly, but she toppled forward a little when Makoto's lips were not there.

"Yes, you did ask for it, but I'll forgive you this time. Now come on, I'll dry up for you."

Rei blinked in surprise. Makoto was going to leave it at that? After springing such a knee-weakening kiss on her? "Hey, that's not playing fair!"

"I guess that makes two of us then!"

000

Ono Marya, the first and only child of the entrepreneurial Ono family, watched with acute brown eyes as her workforce scurried to and fro. The lack of daylight did not slow them down as they hauled their props and building materials past her. Men carrying trees and bedding plants paused to give her final approval of their chosen scenery, and she sent each one on his way with a nod of her head. If they were following the landscaper's plans then there would be no problems, and her staff knew better than to leave her out of the loop if the plans had needed changing. Precision and attention to detail had been the cornerstones that had taken the Ono family's business and turned it into a multinational.

And Marya had to admit that, correct or not, the flowers and foliage were nice enough. She had always loved the greenery of her father's parks and gardens abroad, and she had hoped to emulate his inspiring touch now that she was back in Japan. Where had that enthusiasm gone in the eighteen months it had taken to complete her first real step in her father's shoes?

She allowed a wan smile to cross her gentle, stoic lips. Perhaps she was becoming too like him, and like her European mother. Gentle, considerate and courageous, and yet too business minded to let those virtues shine.

She shook her head and straightened her deep red suit. That was the suit that had become an icon for the Ono family and earned it all manner of strange titles in the leisure entertainment industry, from the 'Crimson Roses' to the 'Bloody Dragon'. Her father had first been made famous for his Chinese dragon parades, and even now that name always made her smile, in spite of the accusation that he had been a ruthless businessman. Had he not been, his company would not have constructed gardens, festival parades and amusement parks all across the globe.

Marya however had been careful to craft a gentler image for herself, now she was the sole owner of Le FEI; The Family Entertainment and Installation Company. She was a more moderate hand with her employees and competitors alike, and combined with her vice for expensive perfume and her childhood playing on her mother's theatre stages several of her people had taken to calling her the Rose Scented Princess. Totally unnecessary, but very flattering.

So why did she feel withdrawn as she walked through her nocturnal wonderland? The silver moonlight did not stir her as it once had, and she did not feel like talking to her hard working employees.

A shadow, tangible and uncaring, crept across her. That wasn't why she was there. It wasn't the culture or nostalgia that had brought her back to Japan after twelve years away. It wasn't the plants or the scenery that concerned her. Five years of study and toil would be wasted if her plan wasn't followed exactly. Once open, this nocturnal theme park would become the home she craved.

"Marya-san, is anything the matter? You look troubled."

Marya jumped, and that dark flicker vanished. "Kizugi-san! You startled me."

Her secretary nodded. "I apologise, Marya-san. I thought you might have been ruminating unnecessarily. Please, rest assured that your wishes are being carried out to the letter."

Marya gave the broad but bookish looking man a small, grateful smile. "Yes, maybe that is it. How about you, my friend?"

Kizugi's neutral expression did not change. "I still mourn for our losses, but I doubt that shall ever change, Marya-san. But do not be concerned. I will continue to give my utmost in carrying out your wishes, as I did for your parents."

Good, Marya thought, though that had not been why she had asked.

But before she could correct him there was loud bang back down the path. Kizugi turned sharply, his face hard. "What are they doing?"

Marya's face showed panic. She knew that her people would be setting up the props for the 'haunted mansion' installation that night. She actually ran after her suddenly angry secretary, only to see the crate her men had been carrying lying on the paved pathway. A huge split ran from one corner up the entire side of the wooden box, where it had been dropped.

It was the crate she had feared for.

"You idiots!" she roared, her face flushed with rage. "Don't you know how important that is!"

Her voice scared back the astonished and apologetic workers. "I-I'm sorry, Marya-sama," one of them said, bowing as low as he could.

Marya did not even acknowledge his apology. She knelt down by the crate and lay her hands protectively against the crack. "This cannot be replaced! We open in less than two weeks, and if we are not ready all of this will be for nothing!"

Kizugi stepped in front of her, broad and imposing even behind his thick glasses, so that the workmen had something beside his fretting employer to stare at. He pointed to the large stencilled letters on the top of the crate.

'FRAGILE

'THIS WAY UP

'HANDLE WITH CARE'

"Didn't you read it?" he growled.

All four of the workmen bowed low again. "We're truly sorry, Kasahara-san!"

Kizugi stared at them all for a moment before dismissing them. "Go. And take proper care this time. Ono-san and I shall take our centrepiece from here ourselves."

Then, as the workmen remained bowed, Marya took the furthest end of the six foot crate and between them she and Kizugi left with slow and deliberate care. She was grateful for her secretary's interposition, but she couldn't voice that gratitude. The shadow at her back had returned, and she was too absorbed in caring for the simple box in her hands.

000

Once their boss was out of sight the four workmen turned to each other and allowed their shock to show.

"I can't believe you dropped it! You almost got us fired!"

"Definitely. Ono-san has never shouted at *anyone* before!"

"Of course she has. Must have done. But damn, that was scary. Is the coffin really so valuable?"

"Of course! It's the main prop for the mansion!"

"Heh, didn't you guys take a look?"

"At what?"

"Remember that mannequin of her father she commissioned? It's already set up inside."

"No wonder she was mad. Man, that's creepy."

"Of course it's creepy. It wouldn't be a haunted house if it didn't have a ghost!"

000

To Be Continued...

000

Please leave a review with any comments and constructive criticism you may have. They are always greatly appreciated, and there is no better reward for a writer than to hear back from the readers.

(c) Nutzoide 2009-2011


	2. The Show Must Begin!

World Shaking: Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Sailor Moon or anything that comprises it. This is a non-profit story written solely for my own enjoyment and that of anyone who wishes to read it. The story and original characters are mine. Please don't use them without permission.

000

World Shaking

- A Sailor Moon Fan-Fiction by Nutzoide -

Chapter 2: The Show Must Begin!

Presenting: Dark Vampire, Aino Minako.

The sound of morning movement woke Michiru. No decent human being should have been up before her, which of course meant that Ami was already dressed and preparing breakfast for herself. While Michiru had cultivated her air of unflappable control for the public eye, Ami seemed driven enough to possess one naturally, as long as she was unobserved. That was the only reason the girl could have been awake already. Though at first glance she and Michiru had much in common, they really were two different sides of very different coins.

While the girl had only just moved in, she had visited often enough to know where everything in the kitchen was kept. If they weren't quick she would probably be off to the university before anyone had the chance to rise and greet her. As loath as Michiru was to admit it, that simply wouldn't do. She needed to give Ami a piece of her mind after last night.

She looked down to the sleeping form next to her. Even though Michiru was up, Haruka didn't stir.

"Did I wear you out?" Michiru asked with an impish whisper. She had certainly done her very best to.

Michiru slipped from their bed and dressed herself quietly, so as not to wake her girlfriend. Haruka had nowhere to be today, so she deserved to lie in. Even if it was her own fault in part, Haruka had a lot to deal with these days. And maybe resting this time would prevent the morning sickness reappearing.

The thought left Michiru smiling more broadly than was perhaps proper, under the circumstances. But how could she not? Haruka was pregnant! Michiru had come to terms with that lon before she had found peace with the idea that she now shared Haruka's heart with Ami. Any child she and Haruka had would never have been theirs wholly by blood. That was a given for a girl who had discovered early on that her sexuality precluded intimate involvement with men. It had never upset her, and Michiru had dealt with the fact rationally. Either she or her partner would find a donor, or they would adopt.

Now they had done both! And the child inside Haruka had been donated by someone who truly cared, and who Michiru knew from experience she could trust her life with in the most literal sense. That Ami would also be a parent was... odd, but Michiru was slowly getting her head around that. Just as she was getting her head around the idea that she was not the only woman in Haruka's life.

Her smile had slipped by the time she reached the kitchen, but still remained pleasant as she greeted her new cohabitant.

"Good morning, Ami-chan. I hope you weren't planning on slipping away unnoticed."

Ami looked up from her textbook and sensible bowl of oat cereal. "Oh, good morning, Michiru-san. No, I wasn't going to 'slip away', but I didn't want to disturb anyone."

As if on cue a faint alarm began to ring, which Michiru knew would have been followed by an equally faint moan of resignation if the walls hadn't been so thick. "Some of us also need to be up for school at a decent time," she said with an 'I told you so' look written in her eyes.

Ami sighed and accepted the admonishment. "Yes, that is true. What does she have for breakfast?"

Michiru shook her head and stopped Ami from getting up. "Eat. I'll make her and her 'father' some toast."

As she did that Michiru decided to give her lecture. "Before our Hotaru arrives I should say that I appreciated last night very much, but it was a cruel trick to play on both of us."

Ami looked back at her wide eyed and innocent. Even her manner of address became less distant, as if to prove it. "It wasn't a trick, Michiru. I meant what I said."

"I know you did, but it knocked me for six. And Haruka as well. Your first night here and you choose not to sleep in her bed?"

"What?" Ami looked even more shocked. "What wasn't it at all! Haruka knows that. We discussed it beforehand."

"Yes, you did," Michiru chastised gently. "But I think she still felt a little spurned. Wouldn't you?"

Michiru could tell that Ami was watching her carefully as she waited for the bread to toast. "... I was hoping she would welcome the chance to keep up your normal routine."

Michiru giggled to herself, partly at Ami's sudden naivete and partly in recollecting the previous night. "Ami-chan, last night was hardly normal or routine for either of us. It can't be, now that you're here. But at the same time it also allowed us to... re-affirm something, which I think I might have needed. So thank you."

Ami nodded at the thanks, but remained quiet and thoughtful. The toast popped up with a loud rasp.

"Would you mind if I took breakfast to her?"

If Ami wanted to apologise, even though it really wasn't needed, then all the better. Michiru also had to think of them both if Ami was going to be making any unnecessary concessions. "No. Please do."

Michiru buttered the toast sparingly, the way both Hotaru and Haruka preferred it, as Hotaru appeared. Michiru felt her unwanted melancholy returning as Hotaru, well turned out in the morning as ever, greeted Ami as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

"Morning, Ami-papa. Did you like your room?"

Thankfully the downturn in Michiru's mood was cut short when Ami blushed furiously at Hotaru's greeting. 'Ami-papa' still lost her composure whenever she was referred to as such. Michiru thought that Hotaru might have started doing it out of mischief now. It was just as well that none of the other girls knew of Ami's new title yet, or she would never have heard the end of it.

For her part Ami did manage to reply, despite her warm embarrassment. "Umm, yes I did. Thank you, Hotaru-chan. Did you sleep well?"

Hotaru nodded as Michiru placed her breakfast in front of her, and the teenager reached for the orange juice already on the table. "Mm-hm. Too well. We've only just got back to school and I want another holiday already."

Although her own college days were behind her, Michiru had to agree. "Yes, this last summer wasn't much of a holiday for us in the end, was it?"

Then she placed Haruka's meagre breakfast in front of Ami. "Here. She's probably still asleep, but she won't mind being woken for that."

Ami nodded and rose, taking the plate with her. "Thank you."

Michiru noticed Hotaru subtly watching as Ami left. "That was nice, Michiru-mama."

"Yes, well..." Too nice, one side of Michiru said. The other just retorted that it was only what the girl deserved. "Just eat up and make sure your bag is packed. You can walk part way to school with Ami-chan if you're quick."

True to form Hotaru concentrated on her toast after that. Michiru knew that her daughter was eager to make Ami feel at home, and to spend time getting to know her better whenever possible.

Michiru left her to it, and headed back towards the bedroom. Listening from behind the doorway Haruka was evidently awake now, if only just, and Ami was apologising for any rejection Haruka had felt.

"Hmm?" Haruka said, her voice still groggy. "No, it was nothing. Michi's just being a worry wart or something."

Even from where she was standing Michiru didn't think it sounded very convincing.

"Well, I'm still sorry, and I'll still make it up to you."

Then the sound of a kiss, long and luxurious, followed by Haruka's suave and slightly sleepy reply. "I'll be looking forward to it."

Michiru turned away, suppressing the sigh she felt building in her chest. Thankfully, after Ami and Haruka's words the night before, the prospect of the night to come wasn't quite as daunting as it had been.

000

"There, there," Usagi beamed, pointing into the shop window jewellery case. "That one!"

On either side of her Rei and Makoto peered at the necklace in question.

"Wow," Makoto agreed. "That is *so* nice."

"No kidding." Rei then looked at the price tag. "Do you have thirty-five thousand yen, Usagi-chan?"

"Nope. But wouldn't it be nice?"

"Yep," Makoto agreed. "It would be *so* nice."

"I bet Ami-chan could afford it. Or Michiru-san." Usagi sighed. "Haruka-san must have so much jewellery."

Rei followed Usagi in sighing. "It must be nice to be rich."

"Uh huh," Makoto agreed. "It must be *so* nice."

Usagi gave Makoto a worried look. She was starting to sound like a scratched record again. At least it wasn't about her old upperclassman this time. "Sorry, Rei-chan. I think I broke your girlfriend."

"Yeah," Makoto agreed, sighing deeply. "I am *so* broke."

Rei looked up, but had her resigned-to-the-facts look on. "Sorry Mako, but that's a bit out of my price range."

Usagi blinked in surprise. "A bit?"

"Alright alright. A lot. Massively. Besides, Grandpa doesn't pay me for working, remember? Just bed, board and my old allowance."

"I get paid," Makoto said, still off in her own little world. "At the end of the month. Then I can pay the electric bill."

All three of them sighed in unison. "Being an adult sucks."

Then Rei snapped up from their collective cloud of penury. "Hang on, Usagi-chan. What do you have to complain about? You have a successful *employed* fiance!"

"Yeah," Usagi replied with a half hearted mope, "but that's *his* money. I have to have a budget, or else he'll get mad at me."

Rei didn't really think that was enough to feel sorry over. "My heart bleeds, dumpling head."

Makoto just sighed again. "Come on you two. Let's go and try on some clothes. At least we can pretend we can afford those."

Three hours and many un-bought outfits later the trio sat in their usual window booth of the crown arcade and fruit parlour, watching the afternoon go by below them. While they'd certainly had fun, their friend and waitress Unazuki couldn't help but notice their mood.

"Hey girls, what's up? You don't seem as energetic as usual."

"Well, it's not quite been a high energy shopping day. But" Usagi perked up, "ice cream is the only cure for that! Right?"

Unazuki giggled. "You took the sales pitch right out of my mouth. What would you like?"

"Vanilla and strawberry swirl for me!" Usagi beamed.

"Two scoops of vanilla please," Rei said. "And an extra spoon?"

Makoto protested. "Rei, I said I was fine!"

"Tough. I'm buying."

Unazuki sighed and rolled her eyes. "Tenoh-san and Kaioh-san have been a bad influence on you two! But, since it's you..."

Rei sniffed. "Haruka-san had nothing to do with it."

Usagi giggled as Unazuki left to get their orders. "If I wasn't here I bet this would be a date for you. Wouldn't it? And you'd have left me alone on my day off from college!"

"If we'd have done that we wouldn't be here with you, would we? And I want to make the most of our day together as well. Right, Makoto?"

To her surprise though Makoto was staring off after Unazuki. "Rei? Are you sure it's okay to be that bold in front of Unazuki-san?"

"Oh, don't worry about that," Usagi reassured her. "She's been our friend for years!"

"Well, yeah, but..."

Rei shook her head. There her girlfriend went again, being far too worried about what people thought of them. Always so eager to fit in, even though she deserved to stand out. "Makoto, she's served Haruka-san and Michiru-san dozens of times before. I did think about that."

Makoto nodded in apology. "Sorry. It's just, like Usagi-chan said, it looks more like a date when the others aren't here."

"Shouldn't it?"

Had Makoto backed herself into a corner there?

"Well, err, it's a bit unfair to Usagi-chan."

Usagi nodded in agreement. "That's right. Next time, I'm making sure Mamo-chan can have the day off as well. Then we can double date properly."

"Usagi-chan! That wasn't the point!"

Rei got the feeling Usagi knew that all too well as she soldiered on though. "But it's not the same without Minako-chan and Ami-chan."

"Well," Rei interjected, "to be fair they have both got an awful lot going on right now. Ami's got her 'special credit study' to be working on now as well as her medical degree. And," she added under her breath, "the whole thing going on with Haruka-san and Michiru-san as well. I mean, poor girl!"

Usagi didn't know whether Ami really should have been pitied for her situation. She had seemed very happy the day before, but it did still seem kind of awkward to her. "Yeah. And Minako-chan spends every day practising for her play, or giving interviews with those nosy reporters, or seeing her agent get out of hospital... I miss having fun with her!"

Usagi perked up with the arrival of their ice creams. Thankfully Makoto didn't sense any sort of disapproval from Unazuki when she set the wide glass of vanilla ice cream between her and Rei, though she didn't stay to make any conversation either.

"See?" Rei said. "It's fine."

Usagi, newly energised by vanilla and strawberry, came down from lamenting their friends' absence. "I guess it's all seesaws and roundabouts though. Before you all disappeared it was Ami-chan who was always up to date with her studies and Minako-chan with lots of free time between jobs, and you two who had to work or had too much studying to do to come out shopping."

That had been true enough. Makoto had been cramming like crazy to try and avoid failing, and Rei had her keep to earn at the shrine as well as end of semester exams to pass.

"Yeah, I guess it sort of evens out," Makoto said. "Hopefully we can start getting everyone together more often when things calm down for Ami-chan and Minako-chan."

Rei just looked at Usagi with a crooked eyebrow. "'Seesaws and roundabouts?' You *have* been spending too much time with Minako-chan. I hope you weren't inflicting those on Michiru-san while we were gone!"

"Hey!"

000

While Ami herself would not have agreed with Rei's surmising of her situation, she readily admitted that the day had been a taxing one for her. Her paper had been submitted on time before the summer holidays but she had *still* not heard back from the faculty about it, even though they *had* green lighted her 'extra credit' cover story within a week of receiving the request. That left her with a lot of ongoing practical study to do, without knowing how much she had to make up after having to rush the preliminary written work for the year.

And considering she had already been put two years ahead in her four year course the workload was pleasantly challenging now, even for her, but on top of that were the other students whose labs and libraries she shared. Like Usagi, Ami's social network was amiable but limited in higher education. The closer, long term friendships of middle school and junior high were difficult to maintain when you were forced to disappear whenever Japan needed its Sailor Senshi, and worse when you then had to feign ignorance over every supernatural incident you were a party to. Losing contact with Osaka Naru and Gurio Umino had been very testing for Usagi and herself.

However, it was easy to feel excluded if that limited network started to believe rumours about you. Several of her university friends were actively avoiding her, and the rest seemed unsure how to talk with her now. Certainly, Ami had dealt with worse before moving to Juuban, but it was still disheartening. More so because some of the rumours, as silly as they sounded, were actually true!

But, in the end, did any of that really matter? Lying in her new bed, her head resting on Haruka's chest, it certainly didn't seem like it. Her post-orgasmic glow refused to fade, and the stresses of the day were easily left behind in favour of Haruka's steadfast embrace.

Ami smiled, too tired to open her eyes again but unwilling to let sleep claim her just yet. "Did baby behave today?"

Haruka let out her breath a little too quickly to be comfortable. "Pretty much. Although I'm afraid he spurned most of your toast."

"I don't mind. You're lucky it isn't worse, you know."

"So everyone keeps telling me. Your mother was regaling me with stories of how she couldn't eat anything for days on end." Haruka stroked her hair. "I bet he'll pay me back when it comes to sore ankles, or something."

Ami shrugged. "Do you think it's a 'he' then?"

"Not a clue. I don't think I'd be the best parent for a girl though."

"Don't be silly," Ami chastised her. "Has Hotaru-chan ever complained? No, she dotes on you, the same way you do on her. Besides, I'm sure *she*," she said, stoking Haruka's flat stomach, "is just being considerate to her poor unprepared mother."

Apparently Haruka didn't have a comeback for that. "If he is, then I will be eternally grateful." She paused, and Ami was content just to be held, until Haruka spoke up again. "Are you ready for a baby?"

Of course she wasn't, Ami thought, but wasn't that beside the point? "No, but I'm looking forward to it more than anything. Even if I will be 'Papa' rather than 'Mama'."

"This poor kid is going to have way too many parents!" Haruka said with a chuckle.

"And more aunts than she can count." Ami decided to turn Haruka's question on her. "Are you ready to be a mother?"

"I hope I will be when the time comes."

Come on, Ami thought. Can't you do better? "But you are looking forward to it?"

The strong arms around Ami tightened a little. "...Yes. And it scares the hell out of me."

That's my Haruka. "I'll be here to help. And so will 'Michiru-mama', and Hotaru-chan and Setsuna-san."

Haruka couldn't have ignored Ami's use of Michiru's name. "And you're okay with that?"

Ami nodded comfortably. "I just hope she is."

000

Becoming a mother for the second time, and once again under unusual circumstances, was the thing Michiru was *most* happy about, but it didn't help her sleep that night.

She had already done her crying in the weeks before Ami moved in, within Haruka's loving and apologetic arms, and now she simply sat in their darkened living room with a million thoughts running marathons through her head.

"Are you sure you wouldn't like the lights on?"

Setsuna was, as always, the right person in the right place and for all the right reasons, and still Michiru resented her help. "Right now, I don't know what I'd like."

The lights did come on, though Setsuna left them dim. "That's better," the cryptic woman said, before coming to join her. "I know all too well how misery loves company."

Michiru looked up at her as she sat. "Under the circumstances I would say you've been spending too much time with Minako-chan and Usagi-chan. Besides, I'm not miserable, and I don't need to be made such either."

Setsuna smiled. "That's nice to know. So what is it that's keeping you up? I did notice that you didn't have any coffee this evening."

Michiru would not be amused. On that she was firm. "You know, it's creepy when you try and cheer people up, Setsuna-san. But thanks."

"Creepy? I'm hurt! I'm not going to let you change the subject either."

Fair enough. Michiru was being just as stubborn. "It's not something I'm comfortable talking about. My feelings about Haruka, Ami-chan and myself should stay between us. But if it will help you sleep, I'm not about to murder them in their bed for infidelity. I'm just... coming to terms with the reality of it."

Setsuna nodded, accepting her argument. "Fair enough. But no more sitting in the dark, or I'll start to worry."

"Deal."

000

Four weeks really was no time at all, Ono Marya thought as she walked the streets of Tokyo proper. Four weeks of planning, of stage rehearsals, of damnable safety inspections and red tape, and it would all be over in only a few more days. The Midnight Garden - *her* Midnight Garden – would open on schedule. The sense of relief was overwhelming.

She smiled and straightened her crimson suit, and let herself stare at the clamour of Harajuku. Having lived on-site almost since arriving in Japan she had forgotten how manic Tokyo could really be by day. All the more reason, she thought, why her nocturnal park was needed. It was a novelty, certainly, but amusement parks were considered to be such noisy and energetic things. Why not provide one for those who needed to relax, and entertain the thrill seekers with clever, thematic scares rather than the rush of roller-coaster adrenaline. The night was both beautiful and frightening after all, and so too would The Midnight Garden be, in whatever proportions her patrons wished.

As long as she could prevent the pretentious gothic fashion crowd from laying claim to it, as they so regularly did to Harajuku itself. The slasher movie crowd as well. That was something she hadn't expected her market research to show, but no doubt they would soon find that the garden didn't quite meet their needs, or adapt peaceably.

She shook her head and continued her window shopping, dropping flyers in at various stores along the way. It was no wonder that Kizugi had ordered her out of the offices in the still unfinished garden manor, which looked over the park from the northern hillside boundary. She could not stop her mind going over her work, or when it did her dark introspection returned, immediately reminded of her plans, her studies, and her painful loss.

No, she thought, the darkness whispering at her back. Her father would be proud of what she had achieved there, and what she would eventually accomplish. He would be ever so proud.

That dark glimmer made her shiver, and she returned to the bustle of Harajuku. She was there to think about things other than work. Leafleting aside this was a day for her to treat herself, and she only carried her fliers to justify the time off to herself.

Her discovery of the day came not from the main shopping streets though, but from one of the smaller side roads. Such shops were less commercialised, and she remembered them selling good selections of bric-a-brac, books, records and such in her youth. The shop she found seemed to be a fairly simple cosmetics store at first glance, but the carefully crafted display in the otherwise cramped widow caught her eye just long enough. Not only did they sell make-up and accessories for schoolgirls and bargain savvy housewives, they also had a few notable brands on show, as well as a couple Marya did not recognise. And they sold good perfume as well. That was enough to pull her inside.

The two women behind the desk looked up in unison. "Welcome to Vain & Glorious. How may we help you?"

That was another thing the shop had in its favour. It was all too easy to miss the '&' on the sign outside, intentional she was sure.

"I was looking to indulge a little," Marya admitted freely. "It would be nice to try a new scent."

The pair behind the L-shaped desk looked at one another, and the older of them 'hmm'ed. "That's Petz's area of expertise really, but she's on her day off..."

The younger nodded but she adjusted the fringe beneath her extravagant purple/black hair - vast flowing curls that fell from her two miniature beehive buns - and she made her way around the back shelf. "True, but let's see what we can do. If you'll forgive me for saying so Ma'am, you have the look of a woman who wants to stand out among your peers."

Given that Marya was wearing such a vivid red suit she could hardly disagree. "I don't mind doing so. A hazard of my profession."

The saleswoman nodded. "Executive... For the home or for work?"

"Work, definitely."

The saleswoman gave an unusual smirk. "In that case we want to make a proper statement. How about... this one here."

She plucked the deep pink bottle from in front of its box, and offered it for Marya to try. Marya didn't recognise the brand, something French – weren't they all these days? – but the fragrance itself was simply named 'Fleur Rose'.

"It is rather exclusive," the clerk said apologetically, meaning that it was very overpriced, "but I think it is something a little special."

Marya allowed her to spray the tester onto her wrist, and inhaled.

It certainly was different, and she hadn't been prepared for anything so strong. Except 'strong' wasn't the word. Unlike many scents this one tried to represent the flower of its name and nothing more, yet it was substantial, like a rich red wine next to so many subtle whites.

"Shocking, isn't it?" the saleswoman said with a smile. "You don't want much, but for a floral perfume it has remarkable depth. The other two in the range are softer, but this is my favourite."

Her co-worker evidently agreed. "Good for the boardroom, but bad for a date!"

"Sister!"

Marya pursed her lips into a slight grin of her own. "May I try the others in the line?"

The beehived woman nodded, and reached for the other two bottles. "Certainly."

And the clerk was right. They were all distinctive, but the Rose had a certain deep pink tone to match its colour and it commanded attention in a rather pleasing way.

"I'll take the Rose after all."

The clerk seemed pleased by her decision. "It is something special, isn't it?"

As she paid Marya took a few of her flyers from the pile in her bag and showed them to the attendants. "May I leave a few of these? Our park opens in few days, and while seats for our play's opening night are fully booked this will let you in at reduced admission on later nights as well."

The saleswoman looked at the flier, and as she read her eyes slowly lit up. "Oh yes. We'd be glad to take some! That is such a novel idea for an amusement park!"

Marya tried not to show her all too amused disapproval, and she slipped a few more fliers onto the pile. Well, she thought, they're supposed to be for your customers, but if you'd like to visit as well then all the better.

000

After the vibrantly suited woman had gone Koan passed the flier to her sister, Calveras. "Look, wouldn't that be a wonderful night out? And it *would* be by night as well. It's perfect!"

Calveras looked back to her younger sibling, late of the Black Moon clan. "I suppose. It would be nice to have another outing together."

Koan, far more excitable than was respectable, danced into the back of the shop and held out the leaflet to the new employee who was working among the stock and the filing. "Say, Tyra-chan, what would you and *your* sisters think about a night out to an amusement park with us?"

The woman who looked up was unmistakably human to everyone who didn't know otherwise. Her eyes scanned the paper, but a cautious look fell across her face. "I don't know. I'll ask them, but... I'm not sure that *I* am ready for it."

Koan gave Tyranya an understanding nod and let her hand fall briefly on the disguised youma's shoulder. "Okay. There's no need to rush it. The offer doesn't seem to expire any time soon, so let us know when you feel like it, okay?"

Tyranya nodded gratefully, and Koan returned to her sister at the sales desk. They knew as well as anyone how difficult it was to feel like you belonged on a world that you had once misguidedly tried to conquer.

"No luck?" Calveras asked, quiet enough that the youma wouldn't hear.

Koan shook her head. "No. But it's early days yet. We can give it another few weeks."

And it looked like such an interesting place, Koan thought with longing as she tidied the perfume display again, waiting for her next customer.

000

"Mamoru! Come on, we're going to miss it"

Chiba Mamoru, long suffering fiance of Tsukino Usagi and her future king when Crystal Tokyo would rise, climbed off his motorcycle, keys in his pocket, and stowed both his and Usagi's helmets in the saddle bags.

"Usa, we aren't going to miss anything important."

"But Minako-chan's play!"

Mamoru shook his head in exasperation. She'd been like that the entire way there. "Which doesn't start for another hour."

"But everyone will be waiting for us!"

"And we would have met them on time if you hadn't insisted on packing snacks for us all."

"But what if they don't have food here!"

Mamoru held up the brochure for the park, where it had been handily tucked into his back pocket. "Yes they do. It's an amusement park."

"But what if it isn't any good?"

"Would that stop you? And you can't have cake for dinner, Usagi."

Mamoru was sure that Usagi's resulting pout was stronger then humanly possible.

"... Fine. Watch me."

Mamoru grinned and put his am around her as they made their way to the ticket booths at the front gate. "We will, while we're eating Yakitori and Tempura Soba."

Usagi's pout slipped. "Yakitori?"

Mamuro handed her the pamphlet, and leaned over her shoulder to point it out. "They have a proper grill and noodle stand, and up here," he pointed to the north end of the park map, beyond the gardens, "is the East European restaurant."

Thankfully Usagi had the self restraint not to drool at the thought these days, but Mamoru let her enjoy her gluttonous fantasies while he looked at the park entrance itself.

Honestly, he couldn't think of a riskier business proposition than an amusement park that was only open at night. Most children would only have a few hours there before it got too late for them to remain enthusiastic, and the lighting costs must have been astronomical, even for a smaller park like this one. Then there was the cost of the bus convoy that, when the park closed at 2am, would take pre-paid visitors back to Tokyo as part of their slightly higher admission.

Still his reservations were quelled by the fact that he still intended to enjoy the night out, and at least from the outside it looked like a highly professional operation. He knew little about the Le FEI company, but they had a good track record in the entertainment business. Parks, festivals, theatre, the works. The people behind it also seemed to have a good grasp on their customers as well, with children's and family tickets being much more accessibly priced to account for their shorter expected visit. That didn't help him or Usagi, but it was good to know.

He put his ruminations behind him when Usagi finally pulled her head out of the brochure and saw the small group waiting in front of the gates. "Ah, everyone!"

Mamoru chose not to shoot off after her this time. There was a certain hilarity in watching her launch herself into her friends, and he was convinced that she really would knock someone over one day. She was adorable and he loved her dearly, but she was still far too hyperactive for him sometimes.

She was a very good influence as well, in her own way. Were it not for her he would have found these otherwise all-female outings awkward, not to mention the politics, sexual and otherwise, that tied them together these days.

It was no secret between them that Rei and Makoto were sleeping together, almost *because* Makoto was so eager to keep it quiet. That he could accept, as long as they were happy with the relationship, but it still wrong footed him. He had known them as team-mates for so long that seeing them as romantic partners somehow distanced them from the rest of their group, at least as far as being Sailor Senshi was concerned. It also didn't help that in his pre-Usagi days he had dated Rei himself, albeit for a very brief period. Then there was Makoto and her obsession with her old upperclassman. Rationally he know that it couldn't have been a sudden thing for them to end up in a relationship together, but it had been sprung on him *very* suddenly when they had returned from Seiji. It had thrown him for a loop, and left him wondering how well he really knew them.

Then there was Ami and *her* situation. Love in his mind was a very monogamous state of affairs, and things went wrong very quickly when outside factors were added. Unlike Usagi, he *had* experienced failed relationships before, and even the two of them had had their share of pre-marital warfare. How Ami was managing to survive it was a mystery, and he hoped very strongly that she knew what she was doing.

Unlike the Rei and Makoto in his mind, he had been able to accept Ami as a lesbian- or at least bisexual - fairly easily. As a teenager she'd had little ability to cope with *any* sort of romantic advances, so to see her more open with her wants and needs seemed healthier to him. Instead, his main discomfort came from the fact that, of all the girls, Ami was perhaps the one he was closest *friends* with. Even aged fourteen she had been his intellectual equal, and now she must have been among the most intelligent people in Japan. When they did get a chance to talk, which admittedly wasn't often, he found it both refreshing and stimulating to discuss and debate with her, and yet she was truly pleasant and considerate company with it, and that combination was rare in his experience. True, it also disguised her brilliance under a fog of mere bookish normalcy, but Mamoru thought that also worked in her favour.

But she was still susceptible to heartbreak and to vicious rumour, and as a friend he did not want to see her affection for Haruka blow up in her face a second time.

As ever, hugs were shared by them all, with the exception of his customary handshake from Haruka. Mamoru hadn't always got on well with her, and that was as much from his own bull headedness as it was hers. Neither one was willing to compromise, as a person or as a warrior, despite knowing that they both should have known better. However, they could at least agree to disagree now, and let their attitudes lie for the sake of getting along. As long as she was not playing with Ami as she did so many others, there would be no issues.

That was made easier since he and Michiru were the better part of Haruka and Usagi's double act. While their girlfriends played, they could commiserate with each other, and had found each other to be intelligent and pleasant company. They had little in common as far as work or past studies went, but they did not have to resort to small talk to hold a conversation.

And yes, Mamoru was man enough to admit that part of his annoyance at Haruka was her effect on Usagi. That anyone, especially such an excessively flirtatious woman, could have his girlfriend red faced and giggling in her wake was enough to get him a little jealous, even when he had Michiru to play with in kind.

And Setsuna, though she hugged him, was a true mystery. She seemed to watch him more keenly than she needed to, and yet remained at an approving distance whenever they spoke. More so than she did with any of the girls. It worried him slightly, but at least she seemed to appreciate his presence.

"So does everyone have their tickets?" Rei piped up once the greetings and chastisements of Usagi's tardiness had been concluded. Usagi had protested that she had brought treats, but so had Makoto and Michiru, and they'd arrived on time!

Seven tickets were raised in the air, and Mamoru reached for his shirt pocket. Then-

"Tickets?" Usagi asked, wide eyed. "I thought Minako-san bought the tickets."

"She did," Makoto said dryly. "She didn't want any of us to 'accidentally' miss her show. As if we would."

Usagi suddenly fell very quiet. "Uh, Mamo-chan?"

Rei threw her hand over her face. "Please tell me you didn't forget to bring it. She posted them, remember? And sent a million messages and e-mails to *remind* us she'd posted them?"

Usagi looked at her pitifully for one brief moment, her lip wobbling, before she turned to Mamoru and, with a mollifying smile, he pulled two tickets from his shirt pocket.

Usagi let out a huge sigh of relief and clutched both the tickets and Mamoru's hand to her franticly beating heart. "I love you *so* much Mamo-chan."

Mamoru just stood and put his free arm around her, satisfied that for the moment he'd done his part as good fiance. "I love you too, Usa."

"And just as well if you're going to marry the man," Haruka quipped, grinning at Usagi.

000

What they saw of the park in the daylight was pretty, but ultimately quite simple. It lived up to its name of 'The Midnight Garden' in that much of it *was* just a garden, and its gravelled pathways ran between lawns, flowering borders and trees rather than brightly coloured stalls and noisy attractions. What few attractions there were closer to the entrance were obviously more suited to the children. The first and largest lawn was adorned with picnicking tables and much more obvious lighting than elsewhere in the park, and a pair of prettily painted women were offering face painting to any child who asked, and elaborate nail painting to their mothers while the children played on the lawn.

Further in the attractions became more subtle - hedged and mirrored mazes, and a mock cavern to explore built under the east side of the park – and the lighting stands became less and less obtrusive. How they would illuminate the paths properly was a mystery to everyone, but at least while the daylight lasted it was a pleasant place to stroll, becoming quieter as they ventured further into the gardens. Beautiful, elaborate floral gardens, fussy and pristine, gave way to more thoughtful and relaxing ornamental areas, and finally leading into melancholy ruins – also fake no doubt, but believably laid out and aged – with fresh ivy and wallflowers already taking hold.

And, Michiru noted on the park map, the entire plan was centred around the huge mansion on the north-east side of the park. The classical flower gardens made up its own elaborate forecourt, while away to the west the rock gardens and ornamental gardens made up the countryside outside the manor's bounds. And then, in the woods behind the manor, stood the ruins of the old castle that had – according to the 'story' behind the park – been the ancestral home of the family who now inhabited the manor.

The manor itself housed both the administration building for the park and its main amusement, the House on the Haunted Hill. But there was time for that later, and they had to cut their cursory exploration short if they were going to get back in time for the play.

The stage stood at the back of the picnic lawn, and again those who had booked tickets with the play in mind paid a little extra to be able to sit in the limited stalls there. Everyone else could sit at the sides if they wished, and children were allowed to sit on the grass at the front, but among Usagi and her friends the consensus was that the proper seating was worth the extra money. It was comfortable, sheltered enough from the breeze and covered should rain threaten, while everyone else would have had to weather the elements and either rent umbrellas or bring their own if they were to sit or stand at the sides.

And, for family theatre, it was rather good. Twee and improbable though it was it also had some good laughs and, more importantly for the park's image, some good scares as well. It also didn't talk down to the audience, for which Haruka and Michiru were both impressed and grateful.

The story was, in essence, an expansion of the park's own fictional history in the guidebook, and a variation on the old cliched stories of vampires and haunted houses. Ono Marya herself played the narrator of the tale, and those who knew her by reputation were treated to her in ghostly makeup and a midnight black suit, finished by a long cape with a blood red lining.

Her heroes - a young couple, accompanied by the boy's father and the girl's mother - were travelling the country in celebration of the younger pair's upcoming nuptials, and needing of a place to stay after they had found themselves turned around in the woods. Though the manor seemed ominous the rose gardens that led to the gates pleased the girl and her mother, and soothed their anxiousness.

The inhabitants, an old man and his only daughter, proved to be wonderful hosts, lavishing their food upon their guests, for they were lonely out on their hill. However, there was a dark side to their generosity, for they were both vampires, and could not let their new-found guests leave.

However, the plot was not as black and white as that. The elder vampire, typically named Dracul, mourned for the loss of his human wife, and in a touching song hoped that the widowed mother who now slept in his guest bed might fill the hole in his dark, pained heart. So too was his daughter smitten, for she had fallen in love with the young man and wished she could take the place of his fiancee, if only she could survive in the light of day.

So both Draculs plotted to alleviate their heartache. The Count, careful after his centuries of life, slipped into the widow's bedchamber to woo her directly, and scared the children in the audience when he succeeded at claiming his love with his bite. The young vampiress was not as wise as her father though, and impatient, and she believed that in order to seduce her young man she first had to kill his betrothed. But she dared not do so herself, in case he should spurn her, and so she summoned her own vampire servant to do the deed.

And who should that servant be, but Aino Minako! At first not one of the girls recognised their friend, and not for any lack of trying. They knew hers wasn't a lead part, but after almost an hour several of them had begun to wonder when she might appear. They had never expected her to be playing a *villain*, and her costume was phenomenal. Mina, Minako's character, made full use of her slender physique and her athletic talents. When the vampiress called for her she literally dropped through the window in the back of the stage set, wearing a softening bobbed black wig and a tunic and pants straight out of Bram Stoker's own period novel. Her makeup was also impressive, washing out any colour in her cheeks and wearing deep red lipstick and contact lenses, like the other vampires did.

She didn't have many lines though, and those she did have were among the most serious of the play. Mina here was nothing like the Harker girl of the original Irish story, and was a devoted servant of her vampire mistress. Hers, as Minako had let on already, was a physically demanding part, and at the close of the first half her character leapt from the window of her mistress' bedchamber to set about doing the deed. For the play that meant spring-boarding through the left wall of the bedroom set and back flipping to the edge of the stage, to drop into her pose as the curtain fell on the cliff-hanging first part. In fact, her only laugh of the play was a slip of the tongue from the vampiress' actress, which almost caused both her and Minako to corpse on stage right then and there. And Minako didn't help matters, turning the slip into a back and forth gag, with her character misunderstanding just who or what was supposed to kill, from the flowers in the courtyard to Dracul himself!

As the play progressed her character lurked and swept about in the shadows, and showed no qualm about killing the heroine. Finally the Hero's own father, worried by his Sister-in-law's wild swing in personality now she had fallen for Count Dracul, went to check on the young couple, only to find Mina ready to strike the heroine down in her sleep. He was quick enough to slay Mina instead, and so they came the conclusion of the play, with the Draculs unmasked. The heroine got the chance to confront the vampiress, the hero slew Count Dracul, and in a surprisingly tragic twist the hero's father was left no choice but to kill his would be sister-in-law, enslaved as she now was to Dracul.

However, in an uplifting ending the heroine had spared the vampiress, so that one day she might be cured, and the sun rose on the end of the play with the spotlighted 'sunshine' of a new day. Each slain character in turn came to take his or her bow wearing white this time, while instead of her spot on the stage the vampiress stood at top stage left, still in black, but waiting hopefully for her cure as her actress happily took her own bow. Usagi's group applauded extra loud when Minako came up as a solo supporting role, instead of bowing as part of a pair or trio of the smaller parts, like the castle servants and wyrd sisters did. She may just have been a henchwoman, but the entire climax of the first half had been hers to show just how great the danger was to the young Belmont and his fiancee.

000

Minako left the stage glowing after they had taken their final bows. It was an odd part for her to play, and initially it had made her a bit uncomfortable, but her first real acting part both put her through the physical wringer and actually forced her to act, instead of simply being her usual energetic self. This was real showbiz, at last!

It also left her feeling far less her usual energetic self once it was over, and the cheers and applause from the audience were all that kept her going as the players all congratulated each other on their first full performance.

"Aino-san, that death was excellent. I almost felt guilty for killing you."

"Um, thank you, Kashimura-san." Minako flushed in gratitude. Kashimura Yuuta, playing the protagonist's father, was a fifteen year stage professional. "I'll look forward to being killed by you again tomorrow."

The vampiress, Kuriyama Hikari, a recent acting school newcomer herself, also took the chance to accost her as they changed. "Minako-san, thanks again for the save in the first half, but Ono-san just spoke to me. She, uh, she wants to talk to you."

Minako paled. That wasn't a good sign. Ono Marya was well known for her fastidious attention to detail, and though it had made the audience laugh her ad-libbing had been quite opposed to the dark tone that was in the script. She had wanted to force Hikari to laugh, but at the same time she'd been watching the audience as well to make sure she didn't overdo it. She'd forgotten that the audience might not have been the best people to gauge it by.

Minako swallowed and finished taking off her make-up. "Thanks Kuriyama-sempai. I'll go see her."

Marya was an intimidating figure for any starlet, not least because she had already been where they were now, and had succeeded. "Kuriyama-san said you wanted to see me, Ono-san?"

Marya looked up, still in costume but with her makeup removed. She did indeed look quite serious, despite her obvious pleasure at having the play go well. "Minako-san, Mina is a very poignant part to play. You do realise that, don't you?"

"Yes ma'am."

Marya allowed her smile to show. "Good. No more ad-libbing then. I've already had Hanzo-san add your lines to the script, so make sure you remember them for tomorrow."

Minako almost choked, and she turned to see Hikari watching with a malicious grin on her slender face. "T-tomorrow, maam?"

"We can't be having any special material until the closing night. You know my stance on allowing everyone the same experience at a show unless they already know otherwise, don't you?"

Minako didn't, but she nodded anyway. She was just glad that she wasn't going to be lashed for her excess of humour. "Yes ma'am."

"Besides, the consensus seems to be that the final scene needed a lighter touch. The children coped well, but I was a little concerned. Your dialogue with Hikari-san was more... tense, than I'd expected in front of the crowd."

"I did think some of the parents seemed to be relieved when she slipped, Ono-san."

Marya nodded. "Yes, we live and learn. It was a good performance, Minako-san. I will have to thank your agent for recommending you."

Not only a congratulation, but her personal thanks to Mikiyo-san? No matter how she tried Minako couldn't hide her relieved smile as she was dismissed. "Thank you, Ono-san. And it was great to see you on the stage again. Even from behind!"

Marya nodded, and Minako hoped she liked being told that much, but before escaping to find her friends she had a few more words for a certain grinning villainess. "Hikari-sempai, you meany! It thought she was going to flail me to pieces!"

000

"So come on," Minako wheedled as they all sat eating their chicken or vegetable skewers. "What have I missed? If any of you got married while I was too busy rehearsing I'm going to be really mad!"

It had been inevitable, but Rei rolled her eyes all the same while the others either sighed or giggled. "No-one got married without you," she said with a look of long suffering exasperation. "Besides, that's not even legal here for some of us."

Minako's obvious excitement faded, only to be replaced by a slightly tired disappointment. "What? No news? Come on girls, give me the gossip! Or doesn't life go on without me to give it a push?"

A great many unenthusiastic eyes fell on her.

"Work." Rei.

"School." Usagi.

"School *and* work." Makoto.

"Oh, and cooking lessons." Usagi again.

"Her cakes are getting very good." Michiru.

"School for me too I'm afraid. I like my new homeroom teacher though." Hotaru.

"Guardian of Time." Setsuna. Damn her nonchalance. "It *does* mean I don't get out much after what happened last summer."

Minako looked pleadingly at Ami.

"... I'm two years ahead in university, so I *have* to be working on my medical studies."

It was enough to make Minako weep. "Haruka-kun, please tell me that having a baby means *something's* happening in your life!"

Haruka nibbled at her grilled vegetables, and the poor woman seemed to have much less enthusiasm for them than the rest. "Does getting ill count? Ugh, this kid is determined not to get fed today."

"Ahh! What's happened to the world! I'll finally have the daytime to myself, and there's nothing happening!"

"Days free?" Usagi's head shot up, her chicken skewer still in her mouth. "You mean we can go out? Together? Like we used to!"

"Yes!"

"At last!" Usagi crowed! She latched her hands over Minako's in reaffirmed comradeship. "What do you want to do first?"

Minako beamed at her as if her friend had been long lost. "Sleep!"

To be fair, Mamoru did think that Minako could do with a proper night's sleep. She looked great on stage, but now she could relax she was obviously fighting her exhaustion for their sake. Usagi had a much simpler take on Minako's social suplex, and her head hit the table with an audible thump. It was a wonder than she didn't choke on the skewer between her teeth.

"Usa-ko?" Mamoru asked, "Are you alive?"

"Just about, Mamo-chan. Thanks for asking."

000

To be fair Minako knew that much of the gossip they had couldn't be shared in public. As she showed them around the park properly she pieced together the story behind Ami's move, their living arrangements, and the fact that Ami, Michiru and Haruka all seemed to be managing it with far less stress than she or any of them had expected. Hotaru was very eager to speak up for her parents - all four of them now – which set Minako's mind somewhat more at ease.

It was then, with the sunlight properly fading, that the park came alive. The lights had been lit at six when the play had started, but now they illuminated the pathways and gardens with an ease that could only have come from very carefully planning.

They were also far less bright than anyone had expected. Synthetic Moonlight was what Minako called it, and it had been invented especially for the park by Le FEI's own technicians. The light was diffused and pale, but one lantern could light up a whole row of beds and the paths that ran beside them, and unless you looked for the lamp itself you could have been fooled into thinking that it was simply a very bright moonlight. It did mean that none of the plants or faked ruins were lit dynamically, which seemed a pity to some of them, but it was a very effective trick and it accentuated the romantic, contemplative or spooky atmosphere of the individual gardens.

It was getting late by the time Minako had shown them around most of the park, but before she let them go she gave them all a worrying grin.

"Have you checked out the haunted house yet? Come on, you *have* to see it!"

000

Like any amusement park, for the sake of covering their behinds, the installed attractions at The Midnight Garden each had their own little board outside listing the requirements, warnings and an added fictional history of the ride. Most of the 'rides' were nothing of the sort, and the boards served more as tour assistance for the sedate, atmospheric attractions than any sort of legal get-out, but the House on the Haunted Hill was the one notable exception.

Minako, still every inch the professional (if tired) tour guide, explained.

"This," she said, reading the board from memory and hamming it up for all it was worth, "is the old abandoned manor of the Count Dracul, who emigrated to Japan over two hundred years ago! We intend this to be the final attraction of our park, but the legacy of evil behind it means that the police are still investigating everything that occurred here, even after twenty five years! As such, we can only open part of the manor to you now, and God have mercy on all brave enough to enter!"

Usagi swallowed hard. She loved amusement parks, but even the most tacky and plastic of ghost trains terrified her. "Mamo-chan? That sounds *really* scary."

"God have mercy on us?" Rei said, cocking her eyebrow. It didn't help that Minako knew exactly what she was letting them in for, and was grinning like a cat in spite of her tiredness. "I'm a Shinto shrine maiden."

"Who went to a catholic junior high school," Hotaru noted cautiously. The fifteen year old might have been brighter than most, and her sense of fashion was gently dour - which fitted the place, Rei had thought - but she was just as reserved as Ami had been at that age and just as wary of ghost houses as Usagi.

Rei sighed. Hotaru had her there. "I'm still not Christian. And it'll be fine, Hotaru-chan. After all, *Minako*-chan, survived it."

Hotaru giggled, and Rei was pleased to see the girl's trepidation lift. "That's true!"

From beside the board Minako cleared her throat before they could undermine her any further. "In *any* case, ahem, don't worry about this," she said pointing to the first line, which read 'one to five people at a time'.

"I talked to the guy at admissions and he said he'd let us all through as long as I made sure you all... appreciated it properly."

She let that sink in, and several of the tougher sets of eyebrows rose in response. "That almost sounds like a threat," Haruka mused. A grin formed on her face. "I can't wait."

"Well I think it's unfair that she knows what's in there and we don't," Usagi pouted. Her voice was still tremulous and Mamoru took her hand.

"Come on, dumpling, I'm sure it'll be fun. The rest of the park isn't too scary, is it?"

Usagi relented under his measured reassurance. "Uuuu, okay. But I'll jump on you if anything scary happens!"

"I remember being very good at catching you."

Makoto stared at the crooning lovebirds a moment before shrugging. "Don't be a scaredy-cat, Usagi-chan. It'll be fun!"

Rei cocked an eye at her. "Hmm, does that mean you'll catch me if I jump?"

Makoto blushed. "Sure."

By that point Michiru had left them all to it since Haruka was already engaged with the younger girls on just how scary it was going to be inside, and had browsed her way down the board. "No flash photography, no food or drink inside the manor, not recommended for the elderly, people with heart complaints, pregnant women or those of a nervous disposition."

Haruka looked up smartly at that. "Whoa, nope, I am *not* staying out here!"

"I'll stay with you," Usagi tried, "I think I've just contracted a nervous disposition!" But Minako had that base covered.

"Don't worry about that bit," she said, waving off several of the girl's concerns. "That's just a precaution. If she was heavily pregnant that would be different, but Haruka-kun will be fine. Trust me, *this* is the bit you want to be worried about."

The line she pointed to read, 'What you see inside is confidential, and anything you see might be hazardous to your health. Please do not share any discoveries you make, if you manage to survive them.'

Minako watched with pleasure as that even put Rei on edge, but Ami's eyes lit up in understanding. "I see. The mystery would be spoiled if she told us."

"Well," Minako admitted, "I've been in for three different test groups - benefits of being staff! - and it's still cool. But it's definitely best the first time around."

Haruka seemed surprised. "They do know that someone'll post the secret up on the internet tonight, don't they?"

Minako shrugged. "They will eventually, but it hasn't been leaked yet, and you'll be told at the end that the longer it stays a mystery the better it will be for everyone."

"Now I'm really looking forward to this," Mamoru admitted, a little guiltily considering how Usagi clung to his arm. "We have to go and solve this mystery of hers now, don't we, dumpling?"

"Shall we then?" Makoto said with a grin, until she was stopped by Minako's firm hand.

"Last detail!" She pointed to the final warning on the board. "If you need the toilet, go now."

A sea of blank faces stared at her.

"Seriously," Minako insisted, pointing to the cubicles a little way down the path, "they built toilets there specifically. Go."

Not a twitch.

Minako sighed. "Half the girls on the first test tour peed themselves!"

Rei's eyebrows finally broke their dumb stare and quirked at her. "Did you?"

"Of course not!" Minako replied, though some of them though it was just a little too quick. "I've faced real monsters!"

"So have we," Setsuna noted with a smile, but she was the first to take Minako's advice.

"Humph, don't say I didn't warn you when you have to change your knickers. Or your trousers," she said, looking pointedly at Haruka and Mamoru.

000

Eventually they did all take Minako's advice, but the inside of the house was a far less scary affair than Minako had led them to believe. Unlike many other haunted houses it was actually better lit than the grounds outside, but that only made the back-story more convincing. It was set up as if its inhabitants had simply vanished one day, but instead of being laid out with a predictable route through the mansion the house was much more open, only to be roped off by dusty and cobweb ridden police tape. It was *that* which channelled the girls through from musty room to musty room, and there was no music or forced sound effects to enhance the creepy air; only the deep resonance of their footfalls echoing through the halls.

Each group was only let into the house one at a time, but it only became apparent why later. At first the place seemed genuinely deserted, with enough modern additions to make it seem like a real crime scene, without overshadowing the typical trappings of the house itself; The paintings that hung awkwardly on the walls, the doors that creaked when they were brushed past, the old half-eaten meal sitting on the table.

"This really is kind of creepy," Makoto had to admit. The silence, as much as anything, really did make the place seem foreboding. Then she stopped and stood rigid, staring at that dining table.

"Makoto?" Rei asked, when her girlfriend's hand failed to keep up with hers.

Michiru had seen it too, though she seemed far less shaken. "My, that was... interesting."

Usagi looked back to them both. "What? What, is there a body? I don't want to see it!"

"No," Makoto said as she took as deep breath. An adrenaline fuelled smile had crept onto her face without her knowing it. "Those candles just lit all by themselves."

Ami stared hard at the candles in question. Certainly, they hadn't been burning when they had entered that room. "That *is* creepy."

Yet the next room held no such surprises, letting the tension build before, two rooms further in, a shadowy figure plodded past a distant doorway that they had no access to. Hotaru gasped aloud, and once Usagi and Ami had seen it they held their partners' hands much more tightly than they had intended. And it was no fleeting shadow either. It walked slowly, allowing them all the chance to see it pass, and it did so regally, but in absolute silence.

"That... *was* a person, wasn't it? An actor?" Rei asked.

Minako could only smile. She knew it was, but she wasn't going to spoil the surprise. She knew that each subtle scare was timed for that one party, and she had been leading them through slowly enough that none of them would miss anything, however subtle. She also knew that this one had been an optical illusion, mirrors just out of sight and just warped enough to make the image unreal but still believable. And that was why there had been no sound.

And to keep the house fresh for future visits there were six different 'haunters', a different actor or actress for each visiting party in rotation. So, while you might know what was coming at the end, you might also be surprised by an entirely new ghost following you through the house in an entirely different way.

Minako hadn't seen this 'ghost' before, though she knew the actress who played it, and even on her fourth visit in as many weeks she found the anticipation of when and how it would pop up next exciting.

And when the rolling, crashing sound of grinding gears and falling stone split the eerie silence halfway thought, she jumped along with them all. After that, sound became instrumental. The sudden, brief clinking of glassware in a locked cupboard, the soft crawling sound of currying rats in a ceiling; none of it was scream worthy so much as it was unnerving. Maniacally so when the ghost reappeared again and again, ponderous but unreal in its stalking. Some of them, Haruka and Setsuna especially, even went so far as to grin or chuckle when they found the ghost, knowing it was only an actor but unable to shake the sense that something was *wrong* about what they saw.

Then, at last, the finale Minako had been waiting for. The taped off route led them upstairs, and while a police sign said the upper floor was off limits that was the only way to continue. The staircase was wide enough for them to go up in only two rows, but Minako had insisted that she, Mamoru, Michiru, Ami and Rei be at the front, with Hotaru, Usagi, Setsuna, Haruka and Makoto safely behind.

It wasn't the way round some of them might have liked – Rei was certainly uneasy without Makoto in front of her – but they acquiesced. After all, they had to trust that Minako knew what she was doing, and knew what was waiting for them.

Nothing, seemed to be the answer. Nothing until they heard the creak of opening doors, greeting them at the top, and all ten pairs of eyes were forced up to see the coffin hanging from the slanted roof opposite them. And inside that coffin hung the pale, dry body of the vampire. Usagi, Hotaru, Michiru and Rei screamed in reflex, and really just because Usagi screamed first, but then in an instant they knew true fear. A flash of lightning lit up the world outside and threw its sharp brightness over the body of the Count, and then their screams were followed by the crack of masonry. In one terrible instant the entire wall started to fall towards them, slowly, ever so slowly it seemed, and the count's ceiling came with it. The world lurched around them and the floor seemed to tip back, like those falls that would go on forever in a terrible dream, and fall they did.

Except those in front could tell by then that they were safe. The wall had not fallen, but ground itself to a halt long before it would have reached them. And that pause was enough for each of them to remember those who *had* fallen, behind them. Fallen at the top of those long, wide stairs.

"HARUKA!"

"USAGI!"

"HOTARU!"

"MAKOTO!"

The screams from the girl behind had been even louder, because they had known their fall had taken them down those stairs, and there had been no purchase or balustrade to offer them support.

And for one awful second they thought they were dead, until they realised how soft the mattress beneath them was. Each of them looked up to see the confusion on their loved ones' faces, which must have mirrored their own almost perfectly.

"Goddam!" Haruka exclaimed as she lay on the bedding where the stairs should have been. "Now *that* was a good scare!"

"Haruka, are you okay?" Ami asked, still with a trace of worry in her voice.

Michiru on the other hand rushed to Hotaru's side and pulled her over to Haruka as well, cradling the teenage girl as they all got their wits back, "Oh, Hotaru, Haruka! Just for a second there I thought..."

Hotaru just gasped to get her breath back. "That was... a really mean trick. Whew!"

Usagi just lay rigid, her eyes wide. "Minako-chan? You are SO MEAN! That was so scary! I though the house was falling on us!"

Rei just helped Makoto back to her feet, before hugging her tightly. "Mako, don't you *ever* dare fall down the stairs for real, okay?"

Makoto nodded and hugged her back, but she was grinning from ear to ear. "Okay. But that was the *best* scare ever!"

Minako just giggled, the only one still standing. "Oh, that was great! You should have seen your faces! I'm sorry Usagi-chan, but this place has only one real thrill ride, so I had to get you on it!"

Setsuna sat up on the mattress, also rather shaken but as presentable as always given the circumstances, and she took Mamoru's hand up once Usagi was back on her feet. "That was a very convincing trick," she said, a touch rattled, which for her was astonishing. Maybe she should have taken a peek as what was in store after all!

"Oh, it's no trick," Minako said. As the girls all righted themselves she had to let on the details. "The whole room is on a huge motor, and the outside and back walls are fake. It's hydraulics. The coffin opens when the tech up there -" she waved to the dark porthole widow above them in the ceiling, "Hi Shinji! – when he sees we're all up and it's safe to start the scare. The trapdoor gets your attention so you don't notice the bed getting pushed out over the stairway, and then the wall and roof actually do 'fall' inwards. While you're looking up. And while the floor underneath you tilts you up a bit so you will fall backward onto the bed."

She tapped her foot on it twice. "It looks a bit fake once you know what to look for, but it's really disorientating if you don't!"

"No kidding," Makoto said.

Ami agreed. "It must be a health and safety nightmare though. And it *is* a rather cruel trick."

"Well, I guess that's why they say only five people per time. *Everyone*'s supposed end up on the mattress, not worrying about their friends. And yeah, health and safety went over it for *ages*, especially if anyone might actually fall down those stairs. But it's all fully manned. If the bed didn't come out for any reason - and the guys operating it say that's impossible - then they wouldn't signal the lightning and the ceiling to start up."

"Well," Mamoru said, "I wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of whoever came up with it! But we were warned."

Minako nodded, grinning evilly, "And you would have been *more* warned if you'd read the whole information board at the start! But I didn't want you chickening out, so I told the attendant you'd want the scary route!"

Usagi's face fell. "There was a non-falling-down-the-stairs-and-getting-crushed-by-the-roof route?"

"Yep. But that's for kids and pregnant women."

Haruka sighed and patted her stomach. "Yeah, and I bet he's *really* pleased you sent us this way. But I enjoyed it!"

But Minako wasn't about to be let off that easily. The roof collapse was the final event in the manor, but the way out took them down a long, ominous corridor to the balcony exit outside. The minute Minako opened the door, still giggling, she came face to face with their pallid, shadow-painted ghost, and she let out a scream that could easily have matched any of the others' back at the stairs. Most of them joined her in fact, since she was supposed to be the one who knew what was coming.

"Ahh, Yumi-san! You scared the hell out of me!"

Yumi, whose clothes and face paint evidently made up as much of her shadowy presence as the smoke and mirrors, just smiled. "Hi, Minako-san. So these are them, hm?"

"Yep, these are the ones you've been stalking! Say hi to your ghost, everyone!"

000

Mita Lili was, by all accounts, an unusual young woman. She was tall for a Japanese girl and gangly with it, being both blessed and cursed with the ability to eat whatever she wanted and never gain significant weight, no matter how she tried. Ever the studious pupil, she had always found time both to keep her grades high and her position on first the volleyball and then the basketball teams secure throughout high school and college. And while friendly she was modest to a fault, always the ugly duckling. Her wealth of friends didn't care about her prominent teeth or her tall, flat face, but Lili did. But then, if not for them she might not have grown up to be the generous and hard working masters student she was.

Her ability to eat was not the only trait she shared with one Tsukino Usagi, however. Her work ethic might have been good, but could she get anywhere on time? Not even with three alarm clocks in her shared dormitory room or her watch set five minutes fast.

She sighed as she stared out of the locked gates of The Midnight Garden. She and her fellow botany students had looked forward to the opening of the park ever since it had been announced. It had been the perfect excuse to use their curricular budget in the name of a good night out, and it hadn't even conflicted with any of their lecture timetables.

It was just her luck that she hadn't been the one carrying the brochures when she had needed to stop off to relieve herself before the park closed, because she must have spent a good twenty minutes walking around lost among the gardens before finally finding the exit. And now it was locked, and all the attendants seemed to have packed up already. She looked up into the security camera above her again and waved for some help.

"I'm glad to see that someone is still energetic at two-thirty in the morning," came a strong, friendly female voice.

Lili turned to see the woman in the red suit and let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, someone is still here! Thank God, narrator-san."

Lili didn't know the woman by name, she was not one to keep up with business news, but she had sat with her friends to watch the play from the sidelines. And the 'narrator' was obviously glad to have been recognised as such.

"Yes, though not many of us I'm afraid. Most of the staff left with the night coaches."

Lili nodded. She knew that she had already missed her seat on the coach that must have been ferrying her friends back into Tokyo. "Is there any way I could get back to Tokyo University? Or I could call for a taxi if I could just get outside."

Marya shook her head. "I can offer something better than that, Miss..?"

"Oh, I'm Mita Lili." Lili bowed, suddenly embarrassed that she hadn't introduced herself already.

"Ono Marya," Marya replied, and Lili's eyes widened in recognition. The head of the park's corporation was willing to arrange for her to be taken back to the university?

"Unfortunately the security system is all electronic," Marya apologised, "so it will take another thirty minutes to get a technician to activate it all again. But I know we should have had more people making sure nobody got stranded here, so can I offer you a room in the staff hotel?"

She gestured to the haunted house in the distance. "Several of our staff do stay on site if they have long shifts over a few days. I could then arrange for you to be taken to Tokyo University in the morning, when the maintenance technicians and janitors leave."

In all honesty Lili would have preferred just to get back to her dorm, but the last thing she wanted to do was make more work for anyone over her own poor sense of time and direction.

"Well, if I could get back to Tokyo U in time for the morning..."

That request seemed perfectly reasonable if Marya's expression was anything to go by. "Of course." She motioned for Lili to follow her up the path to the hill. "You are a student? And a good one to have reached Tokyo University. What do you study?"

Lili found herself grateful that the so-called Rose Scented Princess seemed to be the personable type, however sharp or expensive her suit. "Botany, Ono-san. I'm adapting more delicate flora to survive better in the Japanese climate."

Marya's eyes took a new interest in her. "Really? That is excellent. Diversity is a large part of what we have tried to achieve here - plants both traditional and exotic. And in times of environmental unease it would be a terrible loss if we could not keep our flora flourishing, even at the everyday domestic scale."

000

Mita Lili did not reach Tokyo University the following morning. Her roommate reported her missing two days later.

000

To Be Continued...

000

Please send any comments and constructive criticism to:

They are always greatly appreciated, and there is no better reward for a writer than to hear back from the readers.

(c) Nutzoide 2009-2011

.net


	3. A Relentless Wheel Turns

World Shaking: Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Sailor Moon or anything that comprises it. This is a non-profit story written solely for my own enjoyment and that of anyone who wishes to read it. The story and original characters are mine. Please don't use them without permission.

000

World Shaking

- A Sailor Moon Fan-Fiction by Nutzoide -

Chapter 3: A Relentless Wheel Turns

Digging Deep to Find the Truth

"... Now, two weeks on, the police have finally announced that they are treating Mita-san's disappearance as a criminal investigation. The plea from the girl's parents, aired two days ago, brought little in the way of leads despite many potential sightings. With this case purportedly suffering from lack of evidence already it is sure to make for a difficult investigation.

"With so many young people on Tokyo's list of missing persons already it begs the question: how long can the police treat this case with such high priority? According to Investigating Inspector Tokuno it is the suddenness of Mita-san's disappearance that makes this case such a concern; that it would go against Mita-san's character to disappear on her own at an otherwise happy and stable point in her life. He also stressed again, when questioned, that the interests of the Le FEI business group were not the incentive for such a large scale investigation.

"The staff of The Midnight Garden have already been questioned and cleared of any suspicion or implication in these events, and the Midnight Garden park has been re-opened with only a minor fall in revenues, but this case has certainly left a dark blemish on the once spotless company."

Hotaru, sitting on the settee with the remote in her lap, hit the television's off switch. Her look of sympathy had become a frown as the report had gone on. "They talk about business too much on TV. What about that poor girl?"

Ami shared her sentiments, if not her willingness to overlook how much the incident had hurt the park and its owners. It would be a financial disaster if Le FEI went under, not to mention the damage it could do to Japan's international image. Not that such a thing was likely, with the amount of capital such people dealt in, but it was an understandable concern.

"We will just have to hope that the police find her quickly," Michiru replied to her daughter. "And that nothing too terrible has happened to her."

It seemed like a very measured response to Ami's ears, but Michiru's composure was second to none. In the past Ami had thought her cold when she had used that tone, but she had learned better since then. Michiru *did* care - most likely about the missing student and the reputation of Japan's artistic community with equal concern - but there was no way that her words could be misconstrued or re-interpreted by anyone who might have been listening in. For a woman who lived so much in the spotlight, it made sense to have learned instinctive control over how she came across to others.

By contrast Ami knew that her own sympathy, and her inability to help the girl in question, showed on her face as plainly as it did on Hotaru's.

And it showed even more so when another, very faint retch came from the corridor that led to their bathroom. Hotaru simply sighed.

"Poor Haruka-papa. With all the throwing up, I don't think having a baby is as much fun as I'd thought."

Michiru could only agree. In part, at least. "It is still very exciting, Hotaru. Just not right now. At least she isn't getting sick so often. And some women suffer more than this. I know my mother did. She would say that it was her sacrifice for having such a talented child."

Hotaru gave her a sceptical look, but giggled slightly. "And modest too."

Ami couldn't bear to sit on her hands though. Michiru had insisted that she leave Haruka alone during these last four weeks of sickness, but now with little to do that evening but enjoy each others' company she found it impossible. Ami always felt worse when she was ill or blue and left to struggle through it herself, and in return she wanted to be there to support Haruka now. To let her know that it was neither unsightly nor shameful in her eyes.

"Ami-papa?"

"Ami-san, wait a moment..."

Ami did not dare stop to hear them out. The last time she had done that they had convinced her that it was best to leave Haruka well alone, but this time she wanted to try it her way.

To her relief neither Michiru nor Hotaru went after her, despite their complaints, and the door to the large, immaculately kept bathroom didn't squeak. "Haruka?"

Haruka sat in an awkward position hunched over the toilet bowl, one leg under her while the other was planted upright, and she tried to hide her face behind her knee as soon as she caught sight of Ami. It didn't work of course, and Ami's heart went out to her beautiful, suffering partner. Ami didn't want to be hidden from, especially not now.

Though she could see why Haruka might want to. She looked terribly uncomfortable, more so than Ami had ever seen her outside a fight, and her eyes had turned bleary. As if any of that mattered. At least she didn't seem to have lost her dinner tonight. The nausea must be easing off if it could only draw out a few dry heaves from her.

"Ami, what the hell are you doing?" Haruka's voice was ragged but hard edged.

Ami ignored it, and slipped over to wipe at Haruka's creased brow. "Holding your hair back. Metaphorically speaking."

"God," Haruka huffed, "Ami, get out already. I'm a fucking mess, just let me throw up in peace."

"You are not a mess," Ami chastised, "and if you ever needed some comfort I thought now would be the time." She paused when Haruka turned away suddenly, and let her retch again. As Haruka came back up Ami began to stroke her back, hoping it might sooth her mood if not her nausea. "And this is partly my fault, after all," she joked gently. "Why should you have to deal with it alone?"

But to her disappointment Haruka squirmed away from her touch. "Ami, please," she all but begged, "I love you, but you're not helping. Just leave me alone and let me get this over with, okay?"

Ami let her hand hang in the air were Haruka had retreated from it. She was surprised that it hurt, but her better judgement allowed her to nod and step away. Haruka was the one who needed the consideration, and if what she needed most was to be alone after all, then she could accept that. "Okay. I'm sorry, Haruka. Call us if you need anything. Okay?"

Haruka just nodded, and braced herself awkwardly back over the bowl again.

Back in the living room, both Michiru and Hotaru were still talking quietly in front of the silent television.

"You were right," Ami admitted, a little ruefully as she returned.

Michiru simply nodded, not smug or judgemental, while Hotaru sympathised openly.

"Haruka-papa likes to pretend she doesn't get ill. She has to defend her pride, and I guess that's hard when you're being sick. She gets like that when Michiru-mama embarrasses her in public too, all edgy and confrontational."

Michiru smirked a little. "Though she doesn't always mind if it's the right kind of embarrassment."

"Right kind?" Ami asked, not sure whether to be confused or intrigued.

Michiru giggled. "Oh, you'll know that when you see it."

"Michiru-mama, if this is *that* kind of conversation, please stop having it around me!"

000

For all her years of caution and lifetimes of wisdom, Sailor Pluto never failed to be shocked at how easily humans fell into their old ways. So many leaders, warriors, lovers and teachers failed to learn from their own mistakes, and from those their ancestors had repeated, and their ancestors before them, over and over again.

But more worrying to her were the singular *personal* habits that returned no matter how much effort was made to break them. Be they good or bad, intentional or accidental, there were some responses that were just too ingrained into a person's behaviour to ever truly be free of.

Serenity knew - rest her soul - that Pluto had been trying to break her own for long enough.

She stood with the surrealist chronoscape of the Gate lapping around her at its own shores, and though the doors to the past and the future were shut fast that did nothing to stop her simply looking around and seeing everything that had ever been, and everything that ever could be. And a great many things that never had been, and even more that never should have been.

Worst, having been the one to stand guard for millennia within that swirl of potential history, she had long since learned how best to move it forward. How best to fix the mistakes that would be made if she did not intervene, and how to fix every mistake the past had to offer. If she wanted she could have prevented the fall of the Silver Millennium a thousand times over.

She had even been tempted to, once upon a time.

That temptation, however, was the habit she condemned herself for. Playing with time and space was far less dangerous than she or any past guardians of the Gate allowed people to believe - the childhood antics of Princess Tsukino Usagi II were proof enough of that, too much proof in fact - but what dangers they led to were terrible and insidious things. It was too easy to alter even the smallest 'problem', only to cause an infinite number more as the time stream was warped to fit its new reality. And if any other person ever learned how to find and manipulate the gate then no two people, not even the closest of allies, would ever be able to agree on how to manage it. The wars of little disagreements and simple retributions, or even just the escalating undoing of past alterations, might render the universe lifeless, never mind if any truly hostile force happened to become involved.

No, only once had Sailor Pluto ever been so as foolish to consider it. Instead, she stood and watched, deciding what action, if any, was required. And then, maybe with a nudge or maybe not, she simply let it happen.

She didn't leave. She didn't return to her family, even though she now had people - other Senshi - that she *did* call family. She didn't go to work, even though she had a freelance job to maintain. She didn't even look back to remember the greatest moments of her long, varied life.

It was in almost morbid fascination that she stared in detail at every facet of their coming plight. Even more so now, with the newest changes to the time stream still so unexplored after her allies' return from their parallel world. Haruka's absence from the ranks of the Sailor Senshi, the new and cautious, closer friendship between Sailors Mercury and Neptune. Sailor Mars' new reluctance in battle, and Sailor Venus' new martial skill.

The threat seemed less dire this time around, but the air in the visions, for all its lack of force or power, was darker and more worrisome than these girls had yet dealt with. It would not be a matter of *whether* they would triumph but of *how*, and of what prices might have to be paid.

Even as twisting and unclear as the visions were, there was no need to interfere. She wanted to, the desire was there, but she trusted her fellow Sailor Senshi. They could turn their adversity into advantage, and this time risk *would* come with great reward. Reward enough for her to do nothing now, and simply weep for that decision when the time came.

That was enough, she told herself. She needed to return home and see the family she loved. The family she trusted. That trusted *her*.

Just a little longer at her post, then. She needed to find her centre if she were to look them in the eyes when she returned.

000

Usagi rested much more easily than the Senshi of Time. Being carefree was her speciality, and even in her most dark moments Usagi would choose to ignore her own peril if it meant she could try to understand her adversary's grievances and pain. Now, tucked safely into her own bed beside the man she loved with no such grievances to hear, she rested at ease.

It wasn't that she was untouched by the plight of those in need in Tokyo, but she had always known that she was just one girl, and there was only so much one girl could do. Even if that one girl was Sailor Moon in her 'spare time'. Fighting modern crime and corruption seemed all well and good in theory, or in movies, but in practice it was difficult work, which Minako could attest to. Doing it efficiently had to be almost a full time job since most schoolgirls and university students didn't have access to the plethora of equipment and manpower that the police had at their disposal. Similarly the Sailor Senshi's powers were highly dangerous and best used judiciously, if at all, when up against human opponents.

And while they all had a precognition of sorts, a sixth sense about when and where they were needed - and even by whom on some rare occasions - that power seemed to have no interest in day to day crime. Only Rei, Michiru and Setsuna, with their own less passive powers of foresight, could hope to make a real contribution in the way classic, fictional super heroes did. And they had their own lives to lead. As Mamoru had once told her, it was not the job of the Sailor Senshi to do the work of the police or the armed forces. The Senshi existed to fulfil their destiny, and to protect humanity from the enemies that destiny brought with it. Enemies the police and the army *couldn't* fight.

It also helped that, for all her good intentions, Usagi rarely managed to catch the evening news. There was always something more pressing to do, be it coursework, playing with her boyfriend, or simply catching up on the manga that she rarely got to read these days. Mamoru was far more vigilant there, and helped keep her up to date with current events.

"Mamo-chan," Usagi yawned, exhausted but unable to fall asleep just yet after her evening's study marathon. "What should we do tomorrow? You don't have work and I don't have school. I love Sundays!"

Mamoru looked over to her from the book he was reading by the light of his bedside lamp. "Don't you want to go to the 'study meeting' with everyone?" he asked with a smile. Usagi had been bubbling about the Senshi meet at the Hikawa shrine all week. They didn't really have business to discuss, but it would be the first one in ages with all four of her fellow 'Inner Senshi'. Or at least the first one since their return that didn't involve demons, stern lectures and immaculate conceptions.

"Of course we're going. And you *are* coming too, Mamo-chan. But that's in the afternoon. We've got the whole morning to do something too."

Mamoru put down his book. "Well, I didn't have anything planned. Why don't we go into town? You said you wanted to visit the youma."

Usagi gave him a wide, sleepy grin. "That'd be great. And I'm not checking up on them. I just want to make sure they're doing okay."

"I know."

"Good." Best of all, Usagi knew that Mamoru believed her. "I hope Setsuna-san can make it to the meeting," she wished idly. "It's bad enough that Haruka-kun and Michiru-chan have to work."

"I think you're out of luck there Usa-ko. Setsuna-san said she has a meeting of her own to attend. And at least Michiru-san decided to show her painting after all. You know how hard she worked on it."

"I know, but still... It would have been nice."

000

Usagi never tried to plan her visits to the Four Phantom Sisters for the simple reason that tying all of them down at any one time was next to impossible. As much as they evidently cared for each other, they bickered like any sisters did, and almost as much as Usagi would with her brother given half a chance.

As such only Koan, the youngest of the sisters, was a real full time worker in their store. The day to day running of the shop was her responsibility, and the other girls took turns keeping her company with customers or handling the not so glamorous buying and administration side of their business.

And since several of the reformed youma had also been recruited, who knew what hours the sisters were keeping these days?

Today it was Koan and Berthier playing sales girls, and Usagi greeted them with a huge smile as she dragged Mamoru inside their shop. "Hellooo! Guess who!"

"Usagi-chan! How are you?" Koan beamed back, putting down her magazine and trotting over to the side of the shop. "How did the new skin creme work out?"

Usagi giggle as she took Mamoru's hands and held them out for Koan to inspect. "Perfect! No more biker-hands for him!"

For his part Mamoru rolled his eyes and let the girls have their fun. "So you *did* get that stuff from here."

"Hee hee. Sorry, Mamo-chan. But I couldn't ignore a recommendation."

Berthier wasn't wearing her more elaborate hair style, Mamoru noticed, and had restricted herself to just the single plait. Her old second braid had been remarkable, pulled like a headband across her forehead, but perhaps it had stood out too much. "Hello, Berthier. How have you all been?"

Berthier smiled coquettishly and rested her elbows on the counter top. "Never better, Mamoru-san. Especially when you drop in to visit." She pouted at him. "We haven't seen you in ages."

"Well, this is more Usagi's kind of store than mine."

"That's no excuse, but I'm sure we'll forgive you anything!"

Usagi gave her a warning glare. "Hey, put the claws away! He's *my* scratching post!"

Berthier just chuckled, goodness knew what going through her mind. "Lucky man."

Usagi shook her head. Berthier was very kind and loyal, but couldn't help herself from causing trouble. "How about Calveras and Petz? Are they here?"

Koan nodded. "Calveras has the day off, so she went out, but Petz is in the back with the others. Why don't you come back and say hi?"

Usagi accepted instantly. Petz was the hardest of them to talk to, even if she rarely left the building. While the others would go shopping, dancing or to tour the city Petz would spend her time at home, in her apartment above the shop. She wasn't the frivolous type, and unlike her sisters had refused to try and date. She wasn't ready for love yet, she said, and her outlook on having a social life had been pessimistic since becoming human.

But the new youma had been a good influence on her, as Usagi could see. The eldest Phantom Sister had rarely looked so happy as she taught Aretsuki how to unpack boxes ready to be priced and tallied. Usagi guessed that it made the woman feel broody, and for Petz that was obviously a good thing.

"Usagi-chan!" The disguised fox-girl called in greeting. "Sister Petz and me are doing stock!"

It didn't hurt that the young youma had taken an instant liking to her, which had shocked Petz no end.

The same couldn't be said of Tyranya though. Even behind her human disguise there was a trace of worry and caution on her face, and it had not faded as time had gone on. Of all the youma, it seemed to be their leader who was having the most trouble living as a human. Maxill and Aretsuki had lost their worry after the first few weeks of hidden safety, and Shivis and Kaizi, though still cautious, had been bold enough to find work outside the cosmetics store. But Tyranya still carried a haunted look with her.

"Hello, Tyra-chan," Usagi greeted, and Tyranya looked up with a weak smile.

"Hello, Sailor Moon."

Usagi let out a squeak and shushed her. "I told you, you shouldn't call me that! It's supposed to be secret!"

Tyranya gave her weak smile again. "It is. But it seems insufficient just to call you 'Rabbit'."

Usagi shrugged. "It's my name. I like it!" She picked up her two dumpling tails and twitched them over her head. "See? Anyway, how are you feeling?"

The disguised youma did at least seem to be grateful for the concern. "I am well. But after so much trouble and strife, living quietly under human guise... As Petz said to me, I feel as though I am waiting for the other shoe to drop."

Petz looked up from her work at the sound of her name. "Yes. But I spent three years waiting for that shoe," she said. "It has not fallen. The sooner you accept the idea that you can rest easy, that you are safe here, the sooner you can start living your life again."

"Living life, Petz?" Berthier asked from the doorway. "When was the last time you went out for the night?"

Petz gave her a dark look. "Just because I will not throw myself at a man willing to buy me alcohol doesn't mean I'm not living, sister dearest."

"Well we'll *all* be going out for the night soon enough, won't we?" Koan butted in, subtly bumping Berthier out of the way with her hip. "As soon as we finish this backlog we have a theme park to explore!"

She was holding up the flier for The Midnight Garden, with Mamoru beside her. "And Mamoru-san said Minako-chan is part of their play! Oh, I wish we could have gone to the opening night after all!"

"There's no rush, Koan," Petz replied, but Usagi was just as enthused as Koan.

"Oh, you *have* to go! It's so pretty, and the play is great, even if it is a bit scary. Minako-chan is so cool as mmnnph!"

Usagi stared at Mamoru as he held his hand over her mouth. "Don't spoil it for them, Usa-ko. What's the count so far?"

Usagi looked shame faced and began to study her shoes. "Eight."

"And what happens when you try and give away the secrets of the play or the Ghost House ten times?"

"... I have to sleep on the couch for a week."

Mamoru nodded and smiled at her. "And we don't want that."

"Mm-hmm. But seriously," she said to the girls, "you *have* to go. Really, it's great!"

The sisters all took that as a given, and to Usagi's surprise Tyranya nodded as well. "Yes, we are going, Usagi-san. We've already decided. It will be good for us all."

000

Right then Hotaru was also doing what was good for her, whether or not she actually enjoyed it. It was no hardship to watch people shower her adoptive mother with praise and admiration, or her 'father' with embarrassing platitudes and congratulations. How wonderful, bold or deep Michiru's painting might be; their 'courageous' openness about their sexuality; how happy they must be over the conception of their child, and who might have guessed that androgynous Haruka would take the role of 'mother'. As trite and repetitious as it was, Hotaru did like to see them receive such attention.

But receiving it herself? That was another matter entirely. Shy, retiring Hotaru felt intimidated by the fawning crowds and the constant need to vocalise her opinions of her parents' life and work.

How did she feel about their relationship after being adopted so late? Didn't she feel that this newest work belied a hidden hesitation and melancholy in the pose of its subjects? What was the truth about the month old row between her mother and this Mizuno Ami? How soon before Hotaru would debut into the arts herself? How did she feel about living with so many other women in her home? Was there a boy, or a girl, in her own life?

For each question Hotaru had to make herself smile, because she could never have brought herself to tell them that it was none of their business! The fact that doing so might have sullied her parents' reputation was only a secondary concern. Hotaru was just not confrontational enough to say it. Instead she answered as best she could, telling the short, quiet truth as often as possible, and hoping she would not give away her families secrets when she lied.

It worried her how many lies there were. The only consolation was that they were for her parents' sake; For all four of them, and those four women were more important to her than all the journalists in the world.

There were, of course, those who came dangerously close to breaking past Hotaru's innate restraint. Some questioned Haruka and Michiru's parenting abilities because of their young age. Others asked what right two women had to 'secret, pioneering artificial insemination' when so many normal, heterosexual couples could not conceive. One even had the nerve to ask Hotaru her opinions on her parents having a 'real' child of their own now. It *had* been hard for her to say nothing to that.

Hotaru was not there for the sake of the newspapers or the art critics though. She was there because she was the daughter of Kaioh Michiru and Tenoh Haruka. She was there to support her family, because now more than ever they needed to be *seen* to be the family that they still were.

And Hotaru was proud that her mother had put her painting in the exhibition after all. Revelations was an important show. It was about baring emotion, unveiling inner demons, and showing that even ugliness could be revealed as beautiful, and visa versa. Such themes were popular these days, and an artist with Michiru's reputation for uncompromising and unexpected subjects could not have been absent and still emerged unscathed.

Her piece was unexpected as well. It depicted a soft, romantic dance between two lovers, trapped in the moonlight beneath an old, withered willow tree. But unlike the raw passion or naive fondness depicted in other portraits of love within the show, Michiru's painting was heavy with dark shades and shadows, and the ageing lovers clung to each other in their waltz in gentle comfort despite the blackness of the night around them. No cherry blossoms fell to signify the loss, but the tendrils of the bare willow danced around the pair as if to replace them.

That one critic had been right. The painting was heavy with melancholy, as if their only comfort was each other. The loss of the light and the leaves around them was forgotten, as was any anticipation for what the night may bring. In their black and bare world within the picture frame all they had was each other, and yet in their embrace it was obvious that was enough.

Michiru denied any deep meaning on her part, beyond the loss she had suffered at Haruka's disappearance and the joy and completeness she had felt at her return. Such things were public knowledge, but even in private Michiru had told them that it bore no relation to Ami's more intimate emergence into their lives. Hotaru wanted to believe her, but she couldn't manage it completely. There had to be something there. If only Hotaru knew what it might have been, then maybe she could have helped.

Then came a surprise that Hotaru had been very unprepared for. This particular journalist was obviously not there for the art, so much as the artists, and even though she was with her parents the woman leaned down a little to Hotaru's height. "So, Hotaru-san. What do *you* want, a brother or a sister?"

Hotaru stared at her, only just realising that the woman had included her in the conversation. She felt the first genuine smile of the morning appear on her face, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. "A sister, I think. Maybe it would be nice to dress her up."

If her demure giggle was anything to go by, Michiru agreed. Haruka on the other hand seemed to have relaxed a little, and patted her stomach. "Nope. Sorry, Hotaru-chan, but I want a boy. I need someone around with some interest in sport!"

Michiru shook her head. "But it looks like you have been out-voted, Haruka. Hotaru-chan and I need a girl to pamper."

"In that case I hope she turns out like Mako-chan," Haruka said with a smirk, and she stroked her stomach as if to try and convince the embryo inside to agree. "That would teach you."

"A friend of ours," Michiru explained to the reporter.

"Okay," Hotaru replied. "That way everyone's happy."

Haruka sighed at how easily Hotaru had agreed. "Except this poor kid! He's going to have way too many girls fussing over him."

The reporter disagreed with a smile as she took down her notes. "You think so? Trust me; whatever they say, the boys like the attention."

000

Having watched her now, Rei could admit that she had never realised how much time Makoto put into preparing for their 'study session' get-togethers. She had watched her girlfriend cook before, and even attempted to help out, but in Rei's mind there had always been something separating 'real cooking' from what Makoto did to bring cakes and other assorted treats to the shrine. Even though it could be time consuming, Makoto had always made cooking a meal seem like a pleasure instead of a chore, so whipping up a few treats for them all must have been child's play for her, right? After all, she had done it every week or so during high school.

After the way Makoto had spent their free day together invading her kitchen and putting her to work stirring for the cookies that they now shared, Rei's opinion had changed. If Rei had spent the morning cooking like that on her own she wouldn't have been as eager to share the fruits of her labour as Makoto was. Assuming of course that she hadn't burned down the kitchen first, and had something edible to show for it. She was amazed that a clumsy, forgetful girl like Usagi was also mastering the art of the patisserie now. Michiru was either a genius or a saint to be teaching her work like that.

It was worth it though. The way that Usagi's eyes lit up as she ate something that Rei had produced - or helped produce at any rate - was very warming. No wonder Makoto always looked that bit more content whenever she had brought sweets to their meetings. She didn't need to buy their friendship with cake, but Rei had always been appreciative, even if that had been in part the relief of not having to provide any herself.

They didn't have to patronise her quite so much about her part in the baking though. Even Mamoru had eyed the biscuits with a little trepidation after Makoto had told them that Rei had helped make them, until he tried one.

"Usa-ko is right, you've certainly improved, Rei-chan."

Next to him Usagi nodded enthusiastically. "And they aren't curry flavoured or anything!"

Rei felt her left eyebrow twitch. "That's enough! It was Mako who cooked them, she just told me what to do!"

Even Ami was getting in on the humour though, and hid her smile behind her hand. "So you *are* learning from her, Rei-chan. I'm sure she will wean you off your microwave yet."

"Says the woman who would eat sandwiches for breakfast, lunch and dinner if she could."

To Rei's amusement Ami immediately back-pedalled and tried to look justified in her tastes in food. "Sandwiches are varied and nutritious, with the benefit of being portable."

At that point Makoto stepped in and took another cookie, before breaking it in half and giving the two halves to the cats who sat on the table next to Ami and Minako. "All right, you can leave her alone now girls. Rei-chan is very sensitive about her curries, aren't you Rei-chan?"

Rei looked to the smiling young woman beside her and scowled. "You are not taking away my microwave."

"No, but I intend to get you using your oven if it kills me."

Usagi giggled. "Careful Mako-chan, it probably will!"

Rei's scowl instantly found a new target. She loved her princess dearly, but that girl could be so infuriating and immature! And what was worse, she knew that Rei couldn't let her barbs go unchallenged.

"As if you're any better, Usagi-chan!"

"I am now, actually!" Usagi retorted, sticking out her tongue, and so began yet another furious raspberry war between them. Mamoru and Makoto both looked at each other and shrugged, but Rei was not going to let her annoying friend have the last raspberry. That would have been admitting defeat. It was the unwritten law that had stood for the last six years. Whoever gave up first was the one without the strength to prove she was right!

Even though they both knew they looked like idiots doing so.

Sitting beside Ami, Luna watched with unconcealed despondency. "Do you think they are ever going to grow up?"

Ami considered that for a moment. "I'm sure they will. Eventually."

While Rei and Usagi fought their tongue war Mamoru and Makoto turned their attention to the most quiet member of their troop that afternoon. To say it was uncharacteristic was an understatement, but Minako had for once been content as spectator while her friends talked and bickered.

"How about you, Minako-chan," Mamoru asked politely. "Your acting is still making sure you sleep well?"

Minako smiled at him and nodded, her cookie hanging from her lips. "Mmm-hmm. Yeah. Advertising and press conferences were way easier. I never realised that remembering lines and positions and songs and somersaults day after day would be so hard!"

"Are you sure you're not doing too much?" Makoto asked, but Minako shook her head.

"No, we're all knackered! It's just that kind of play I guess. And I get the 'jumping around the place and creeping up on people really slowly' part, so maybe it's a bit worse..."

Then she grinned. "But it's fun! Live audiences are the best! Because of that I only realise I'm dead by the time I get home."

Rei knew that feeling very well. She had been a school starlet in her time, and the appreciation of the crowd had been what kept her going back on stage back when she was fifteen. Knowing Minako she could take anything that her director threw at her.

"Well, you're not the only one who has it tough," Rei said, needling at her as much as she commiserated. "Mako and I have work AND school to deal with. And poor Ami-chan has to live with Setsuna-san now!"

Both Makoto and Ami moved to object, but Usagi beat them to it, looking as though she felt left out. "And what about me? I've got it tough too."

Rei didn't believe that for a second. At least, not compared to the rest of them. "You're practically married to Mamoru-kun, dumpling head. You've never had it so good!"

Usagi looked ready to come back, but then looked at Mamoru and though better of it. "Hmmph. Being a wife isn't so easy, Rei-chan," she said, and clutched at Mamoru's arm. "It's a good thing you have Mako-chan to do that for you."

She might have asked for that, Rei realised, but that was below the belt. However, before she could launch her second counter offence of the day Minako caught her ears with impending gossip.

"So how are Setsuna-san and Michiru-san treating you, Ami-chan? Isn't it... you know, awkward?"

None of them had plucked up the nerve to ask that yet, and so they all hung on Ami's reply with more keenness than was perhaps polite. Even the cats, or *especially* the cats in Luna's case.

"No," Ami denied, surprised that she had become the centre of attention all of a sudden. "Michiru-san and I are getting on. And Setsuna-san seems to like me, when she is around."

"But..." Usagi obviously didn't want to tread on Ami's toes, but at the same time her own curiosity was obviously getting the better of her. "You're both with Haruka-kun. How does that work?"

"Really, it's not that bad," Ami replied, but that seemed like too cautious a response to mollify Rei's own desire to know how Ami was coping with her situation. Ami had been there to help Rei thought her concerns about her new relationship, and she was determined that Ami was not going to get away with sugar coating her problems.

"Ami-chan, we understand. I know it's got to be hard, but we'll want help if you *are* having problems."

"Rei-chan..."

"And if Michiru-san has a problem with you then make sure to tell Haruka-san as well. They put you through a lot, and you've moved in with them now, so it's too late for either of them to change their minds."

Rei noticed Makoto trying to shush her but Ami looked ready to spill whatever secret it was that she had on her chest, and Usagi, kind and concerned as always, spoke up with more support.

"And if you want me to talk to Michiru-san, I will do. I know she likes you..."

"STOP IT!"

Whatever Usagi was going to say ended abruptly at Ami's shout, and Rei jumped in shock as the shy girl slammed her palms into the tabletop.

"I said it was okay, and I *meant* it! Why is that so hard to believe!"

Then, to their collective surprise, she rose from the table and stormed out to the kitchen. Or as close to storming as the reserved young woman could manage.

Rei looked around to meet the other stunned faces, while Luna gave a futile call to Ami before letting her go.

"Rei, she doesn't need our help," Makoto told her, as Rei sat there in confusion. "She needs us to be happy for her, even though we *don't* understand what she's dealing with."

Rei looked to Minako and Artemis who both just looked as surprised as she felt. Usagi looked aghast, but thankfully Mamoru was there to reassure her that what had happened wasn't her fault. Rei agreed; she knew the fault was her own. Ami hadn't been keeping anything in. She'd been trying to put up with her mouthing off about the women she lived with.

Luna however had turned back to them with a sigh. "You shouldn't need protecting from each other, whether you think it's necessary or not," she said pointedly, but to Rei's relief she did not aim it at anyone in particular.

Makoto rose, presumably to go and apologise for what they had said. She seemed to know what Ami needed best from her friends, but Rei wasn't going to have her taking the blame for this. She reached up and pulled the taller girl back to the floor. "Sorry, Mako. I'll go."

She found Ami just standing with her back to the countertop in the kitchen. She looked upset rather than angry, but that was no better in Rei's mind. "Ami-chan? I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking."

Rei couldn't believe how charitable Ami was when she turned and gave her a weak smile. "It's okay. I shouldn't have shouted like that. I know it's hard to understand - I don't really understand it myself - but I'm not lying. We're all working out okay, and I don't want to be pitied for managing that. Or for not having Haruka for myself. If anyone has that claim it isn't me."

Then, from behind Rei, Usagi appeared with her own pair of moist eyes. "I'm sorry too, Ami-chan. I really am happy for you. And I do know Michiru-san likes you. It's just... a bit confusing."

"Yes," Ami agreed, accepting a hug that Usagi looked like she needed. "It is confusing. But it's alright like that."

Pretty soon they had all migrated to the kitchen, and Rei manoeuvred Makoto over to where she was making tea for them all, to settle their hesitations. "I've got to start listening to you."

Makoto just shrugged. She obviously thought so too, but as much Ami had not needed the aggravation it had shed its own light on the subject. "But now we know for sure," she said with a tone of relief. "And at least you cared enough to show it."

000

"I'm home."

Though there were no sounds of feet coming to greet her, Ami heard Hotaru's voice echo from the living room. "Welcome back! Did you have fun at Rei-san's?"

Stepping inside Ami saw that Hotaru was alone, and had set aside a book of homework to lie on the couch, staring over the arm rest at her.

"Yes, we had fun. Though it was a little tense at times."

"Tense?"

Ami nodded. "I think Rei-chan and Usagi-chan were worried about me, all alone and at Haruka-chan and Michiru-chan's mercy!"

Hotaru took the joke in the spirit it was meant and giggled with her, but she evidently understood far more from it than Ami had intended. "They were worried like your Mum was?"

"Yes," Ami replied truthfully. "And I couldn't do much more to reassure them than I could for her. How do you explain it?"

"I don't," Hotaru said, giving an unconcerned shrug and seeming not to realise it had been a rhetorical question. "I gave up trying to explain Haruka-papa and Michiru-mama before I got put forward in school again. We couldn't explain why I was getting older faster than anyone else either. Or why I can heal people. It's easier not to say anything."

Ami would have agreed, if only it was that easy. "But if you don't say anything when your friends are concerned, they only worry more."

That gave Hotaru pause for thought. "Then I hope my friends don't find out about it. Except you all of course!"

Ami smiled in agreement, and decided that was a good place to manoeuvre to a less melancholic subject. There was time to talk to Hotaru about friends and secrets later. Keeping the one from the other had never done her any good. "So, what are we working on tonight?"

"Maths," Hotaru replied simply, pulling herself upright again and slipping off the sofa to kneel in front of the low table again. "It's really easy. Boringly easy."

"In that case the sooner you finish it the sooner you won't have to stare at it any more," Ami said, hoping she didn't sound too much like she was lecturing. "That's what I do. Then I can work on what I *want* to."

Worryingly, Hotaru gave her one of those looks that the other girls might have after coming out with something that betrayed her workaholic nature. "Ami-papa, that's what *this* book is for!"

The fifteen year old held up the novel she had left down beside the table. It was probably one of Michiru's, or else the girl had kept a interest for historical fantasy a well hidden secret up until now, but the bookmark indicated that she was already a fair way through the hefty paperback.

"There's only so much time a girl can spend studying."

Ami chose not to answer that, but at the same time the irony was not lost on her that, at Hotaru's age, her own friends would have said there was only so much time a girl could spend *reading*, full stop.

"In that case I'll leave you to it," she said, unable to keep the smile off her face. "Where is everyone else?"

Hotaru sighed. "Setsuna-mama said she had to work again, and left after dinner."

At least she did come to eat this time, Ami thought, but she let Hotaru continue.

"Haruka-papa and Michiru-mama said they had something to talk about, and went to the study. They wouldn't tell me what though," Hotaru said, unhappy about being left out. "Haruka-papa was quiet all through dinner after reading that letter."

"Letter?" That was odd. The study was usually reserved for Setsuna's use, and aside from the house reference library it didn't house anything the others often needed. But maybe Ami was of more use keeping Hotaru company than intruding on her partners. "Oh. Well, did you have fun at the exhibition?"

"Oh yes, that was a lot more fun this time than I expected!"

000

As Hotaru had said, when Haruka and Michiru did finally emerge neither was as content or talkative as Ami had hoped. It was nice to put their minds at ease with the acceptance the other girls had shown to her that day, even if Ami had to do a little editing around the edges to take the fire out of their friends' initial concerns, but it was clear that Haruka had other things on her mind than what Rei or Usagi thought of them, and Michiru was distracted by it.

Ami wondered if emerging from her teens had made her more of a busybody because, while it was late before she had summoned up the courage, she did eventually ask what it was that neither of them had told her that evening.

She was disappointed when Haruka did not tell her the truth.

"Don't worry about it, it's just hormones," Haruka lied, not unconvincingly, as she returned from the en suite bathroom. "I never realised it was possible for a bra to get quite this uncomfortable until baby started interfering."

Ami didn't think Haruka had done it on purpose, but she had unbuttoned her shirt at just the right time to show off the bra in question. For a moment it did manage to distract Ami from her question. "Do you think you might be trading in your morning sickness for sore breasts?"

"I hope so," Haruka said after a moment. "I think this is preferable to any more weeks like the last few."

She unhooked the garment and arched her back a little, a smouldering smile appearing on her face. "Do you promise to be gentle tonight?"

And Ami was sorely tempted. Recently Haruka had been in no state of mind or body for any extracurricular activity, but while she wanted to accept Ami decided to put her desire for honesty before her libido.

"Haruka," she said slipping her hands around her lover's bare waist, "you can distract me all you want, but it won't work forever. You barely said a word tonight, and it can't just have been your breasts keeping you pre-occupied."

Haruka sagged a little, though whether it was the prospect of admitting the truth or her lack of success in tempting her this time Ami couldn't tell. "Honestly Ami, it's not anything important. Just baggage."

"But it did upset you."

"No. It was just unexpected."

"I'd still like to know." Last try, Ami thought. Then I'll just have to trust her.

It was enough. "...We got a letter while we were out. My sister wants to see us."

"Sister?" Ami didn't know what else so say in the wake of that statement. "I didn't know you had a sister."

Haruka gave her a grim smile and fetched her robe from the back of the wardrobe door. "Neither did I. Not for quite a while anyway."

But Haruka did not elaborate further, so it was left to Ami to try and stumble forward and find out what on earth she meant. "So... when are we meeting her?"

"We're not." Haruka said it with a firmer voice than Ami was used to hearing from her. At least not when out of her sailor fuku. "I don't know her, and I doubt my parents have told her much about me that might make a meeting go well."

By that point Ami's brain had re-engaged with the rest of her, and she made the first, most natural observation. "How old is she? She must be very young if you have never even met her. Perhaps this is a way for your parents to try and contact you?"

"I doubt it. We have an agreement. They leave me alone, and I leave them alone. And she's adopted, so she could be in her teens by now. Hell, she could be older than me. As far as I know, they took her in when I left home."

It hurt Ami to hear the tone of disgust in Haruka's voice. "I take it you didn't leave willingly?"

"I had become an embarrassment to them, and I made it clear that I was going to pursue sports, and racing, and other girls, whether they liked it or not. And I was drawing attention to myself by winning track races by then. If they disowned me, I'd make it clear to Japan that I was going to be a success and still be *their* greatest mistake. They gave me a one bed apartment and an allowance, and I didn't get them involved in my life."

It was an angry admission but one with firm, underlying acceptance to it. Haruka had certainly got the better end of her deal, and she knew it. Her parents must not have been so completely dismissive of her.

"She was my replacement, so why would she want to see me?"

Ami had to ask, and she asked gently, taking Haruka's arm. "Don't you want to find out?"

"No." It wasn't an immediate response, but it was a clear one. "For all I know she's just seen me in a magazine, or on the TV. Me, and Michiru and Hotaru. Maybe you and Michiru too. I'm not letting her re-open that can of tripe."

Ami sighed, and accepted that. It was Haruka's family, and she had the right to deal with this however wanted. But, "I can't believe I moved in with you and there's still so much about you I don't know."

She softened what might have been an accusation with a kiss against Haruka's cheek. "I'm glad your parents left you money to live on. You have obviously used it well."

Haruka laughed for the first time that night. "Hardly. I told you, Michiru is the one with the money. I have – had - the Ferrari, before it got busted in that last fight. And I've still got the Suzuki. And Hotaru. When I do make money, that's where it goes. And I've got you to spend it on too now."

Ami blushed. "You don't have to buy me anything."

"Like you didn't buy me a certain very expensive brooch not all that long ago?"

"Yes, maybe I did. So, does that mean that Michiru-san was your mysterious 'wealthy benefactor'?"

"Yeah," Haruka said, a little more quietly than was needed. "Something like that. I don't know whether she got a better deal out of her parents than me, or the worst."

"How do you mean?"

Haruka sighed, and Ami realised that Haruka probably wasn't supposed to be telling her this. But she did. "It was her inheritance."

"...I didn't know," Ami said, for the second time that night, and feeling bad that Michiru wasn't there to tell her herself. "Did they get on?"

"Yeah, they did as far as I know. Michi's never given me reason to think otherwise. Now come to bed already. We can talk about it with her tomorrow if you want, and I'm tired now."

Ami agreed and got up, giving her a last kiss before heading for the bathroom, grateful for what she had heard. "You lie down then. I'll be there in a minute."

000

"Aino-san, thank you again for coming. I do apologise for interrupting any plans you had."

Minako looked at her employer across the small, elaborately set dining table. Not even her director, but the outright owner of their entire enterprise.

"No, it wasn't a problem, Ono-san" she replied, making sure to be as polite as possible. "My parents have eaten without me before."

A small attempt at humour, but Ono Marya seemed to appreciate it in those kinds of small doses. Either that, or the immaculately dressed businesswoman simply smiled to humour her, but it seemed genuine to Minako.

"You still live at home with them?"

Minako blushed in embarrassment, and nodded. Perhaps that was giving too much information. "Yes. I just... haven't needed to move."

Or had the money, but that wasn't something to tell the woman paying her salary. In truth Minako could have afforded to rent a flat of her own ever since appearing with Sailor Uranus at their press conference, but Minako was much more cautious with her money these days. She had a scooter to fuel and maintain, and moving out would have lowered her living standards quite a bit. Putting up with her parents, uninterested or disapproving as they could be, was worth it for the moment.

"I had taken you for something more of a free spirit," Marya said, observing her over what little remained of their late evening meal. There was a scrutiny in those eyes that unnerved Minako, and yet this business and theatrical giant was still perfectly friendly with it. "But I shouldn't pry. I did not ask you here to put you under yet more investigation."

Minako wanted to ask why she had invited her, and only her, to dine in her personal quarters at the park. Marya was not inclined to keep that a secret however, and answered the unspoken question without prompt.

"My secretary leads me to believe that the police were more thorough with you than they had any right to be these last weeks. For that, Aino-san, I apologise."

Minako was taken aback. "Ono-san? No, really, it was just to be expected. After all, I know I'm hard to nail down, always going and coming! I guess I was just a natural suspect."

And she had been, according to detective Tokuno. The police had finished with most of the park staff after the first week and a half of investigations into Mita Lili's disappearance. Minako had suffered another five days of grilling, interviews and recounting her steps on that night two weeks ago. After all that time she would barely have remembered what it was she *had* done, if she hadn't spent the entire night with her friends. She *did* have an unfair reputation - though well deserved - of vanishing at the strangest of moments. She couldn't very well tell the police that it was all just to dress up in a multicoloured leotard to fight invaders from outer space!

"Maybe so, but your alibi was sound and there was no evidence that you, or any of my players, were involved any more than one of the technicians. Such harassment on top of your already taxing stage performances were putting undue and notable strain on you, and I will see to it that you are suitably compensated."

"Ono-san."

Minako didn't know what to say. Was her boss taking a legal line with the police, or was she intending to do this herself? And why go out of her way for a newbie actress?

Marya also answered that. "I need you fit and able, Minako-san. Your part in our production is an unusual and noteworthy one for a play such as ours, and I am sure you know that you have already been singled out for attention by the critics."

That was true, and Minako had been overjoyed about it. It was 'a daring role, played with surprising delicacy and physical skill from a newcomer only known for her cheerful and entirely unsubtle attitude before now.' Minako had taken it as the first true recognition of her herself as an actress and the review was now pinned to her bedroom wall.

"We do not want to have to cancel the play, but you *were* the replacement for the part of Mina, so we do not yet have a fully trained understudy to take over for you. As such, I need you to be looking out for your health, Minako-san. After the recent difficulties if you require lodgings, or a chauffeur, you will ask me personally. Understood?"

That made more sense. It was still totally unexpected, but if Minako did fall ill then she would not be able to jump around on stage in the way the audience would be expecting. And the familiarity that Marya showed her only made her seem more sincere. "Thank you, Ono-san. That is far too generous."

"No, it is deserved and it is necessary. Your hard work for us is appreciated. But it is late and neither of us needs to think any more about such things until the morning. You enjoyed the meal?"

"Yes. I've always liked Western food."

"As have I. I did not remember meat being so scant here at home."

000

Once Minako had left, chauffeured back to her home in Tokyo proper, Marya wasted no time in leaving their plates and glasses for the housekeeping staff. It was late to be prowling the halls of the on site residences, especially on a Sunday, but even so the strong urgency in her step was unmistakeable.

And as she strode, the shadow strode with her. It thrilled at her impatience, and fed it with eager anticipation.

Marya slipped her phone from her pocket, calling her personal secretary without breaking stride. "Kizugi-san. Was there a reaction?"

"Yes, Marya-san. More than just a reaction. That girl is..."

Kizugi, though sounding dour as ever, seemed lost for words. That was enough information though, and Marya's anticipation burned even greater. "Meet me downstairs. Now."

"Yes, Marya-san."

It didn't cross Marya's mind to watch her words, or even that there might have been need to, but no one was about as she traversed the corridors and entered the lift. The doors closed behind her, and as she turned she could have sworn that the metallic reflection she saw in those doors was darker than it should have been in the brightly lit elevator. But a blink of an eye later and she was proved wrong, and so her mind turned back inwards.

The residential and office complex had been built into the winding haunted house, soundproofed of course, but only Kizugi and she knew how deep into the hillside the building sank. In the earlier stages of construction the landscapers had used an old set of plans, and dug an entire dungeon floor for the attraction that had been cancelled many months before.

Except that it hadn't been cancelled at all. Merely appropriated for Marya's personal use. Accidents happen, and the workmen had been forced to finish the job, in case more office or living space was ever needed. Everyone knew it never would be, but the way she had told it, it made sense to plan against future eventualities and make use of the unfortunate mistake. Of course, she couldn't have staff snooping around in barely finished and unfitted areas of the building, so she and her secretary had the only keys to both the lift exit and the 'basement entrance' back into the haunted house itself.

However, Marya had fitted the place herself. She had told her secretary what was needed, and he had outdone himself in his efficiency. The main chamber, their laboratory, held cage after cage of animals across its far wall. Those few creatures with the energy squeaked and cried as Marya entered, but she had long since become used to the noise. She pitied the poor exhausted animals, but they were only that. Animals. They had served her well, and those that had died had done so to ensure that no human need suffer their fate. Under them the computers, sample chambers and test tubes lined the work benches, interspersed with pieces of machinery that no layman could have guessed the use of.

From the ceiling the one free animal, a white winged bat, released its hold and flew down to land on Marya's crimson padded shoulder. "Vesper. Have you been a good girl?"

The bat chirruped in reply, and Marya stroked her fingers down its fur. Then she turned, to greet the young woman who hung from their finest apparatus.

"Good evening, Lili-chan." She raised a hand to caress the student's pale face. "Are you feeling better?"

Mita Lili shrank away from the touch, but said nothing. She had stopped begging for her release after the first week and now, much as it might have scared her, just waited for the inevitable. She hadn't the energy to struggle any more.

But Marya was not so cruel. It was for the greater good, and Lili would be the most beloved of many. The first human to give the gift of life to their Shard, and the first to illuminate the path forward after a year of stagnation.

The technological restraint kept her standing, but Lili did not hang from its arms. The conductors at either side of her supported both the shackles that fastened to her wrists and the harness that held her waist, and opposite her chest sat the loading system and the cradle for Marya's Shard.

"I will bring dinner for you soon, Lili-chan. Do not sleep just yet."

It was then that the door opened again, and the howling of the animals in their cages greeted Kizugi as it had Marya. "Marya-san."

He proffered the shard of green crystal that he held in his hands. Though only a splinter, and viciously sharp at its broken edge, the Shard was large enough that he could offer it as if it were a ceremonial dagger, and Marya took it in the same fashion.

"It did not just shimmer and glow," Kizugi said, his eyes never leaving the crystal from behind his think glasses. "Next to the Aino girl... It shone with the brightness of a star! That girl is special, somehow. She is a creature of *life*. It was all I could do to keep her from noticing its light."

Marya gazed at it with reverence, paying only slight attention to the large man and she turned back to Lili. "Yes, it is not beyond belief. Aino Minako is more alive than most. If the Sailor Senshi recognise her, no wonder your soul is so eager to be seen by her."

She held up the Shard to Lili's eyes, and almost instantly the green, twisting tendrils of light began to flicker and glow, reaching out of their crystal prison to the body they had been separated from. "Look, my beloved Lili. Your soul is so honest with itself. The energy that is you, alive."

Then Marya took the Shard away, before the tendrils could reach her, and they sank slowly back into the crystal. "But do not mourn its loss. You will not miss it, and what I can give you in return... Lili-chan, it will set you free!"

With that she set the dagger-like Shard in its cradle and locked it in place on the delivery track that would take it to Lili's heart. It would be the carefully cut blunt end that would touch her chest, not the sharp, broken tip, but Lili's eyes widened in fear all the same. She knew what would come after this.

"No..." Lili whispered. "Please. No more. I'll do whatever you want. Please."

The desperate voice tore at Marya's heart strings, but she was powerless to stop herself. She had come too far to give up on her own desperate dreams now. Not after everything she had achieved.

"No, little Lili. No more. Not tonight. Tonight you must rest, and soon you will understand. Soon."

Suddenly a new voice joined them, and both Marya and Kizugi spun around in shock to see a tall, tanned woman wearing white and green step from the shadows at the rear of the lab.

Sailor Pluto.

"Perhaps you could enlighten us *now*."

Marya stepped back. How could anyone else have got here? Only she and Kizugi had access to their laboratory! "W-who are you?"

Sailor Pluto stood strong and sure with her staff at her side. Against that formidable presence even a woman of Marya's status and stature had to tremble. Sailor Pluto stared at them and humoured the redundant question. "I am merely an asteroid with delusions of grandeur."

Kizugi pulled a device from his shirt and instantly levelled it, like a pistol or a television remote, at the costumed heroine. In that same instant Sailor Pluto brought her staff down to point the gem at its top at the broad secretary. Even Vesper, clutching to Marya's shoulder, screeched at the intruder.

Yet they both hesitated. Kizugi's device, his weapon, housed a crystal only a fraction the size of their precious Shard, yet it had been re-cut and made whole again - and wasted as jewellery - long before the Shard had been found. Now, after all their experimenting, if he released its power the rage and hatred it held would be let loose upon the Senshi in front of him. It was a power that could tear matter, any matter, to shreds. The raw, trapped energy would unleash its own righteous fury upon its target. And the concern on Sailor Pluto's face showed that somehow she knew even *she* was in danger now.

At the same time, everyone in Japan had seen Sailor Pluto unleash her magic on her foes, and cut the tarmac apart as if it was butter with her Dead Scream bolt. What would that power do to a mortal man, with no demonic power to protect him? Is that why Kizugi himself hesitated?

"Stop, both of you!" Marya commanded. "No-one will die here."

Kizugi barely hesitated and did as he was told, and Sailor Pluto followed in kind. "You will not hinder us," Kizugi said unnecessarily, but Sailor Pluto turned her attention to Marya and Lili instead.

"A warning, Ono Marya. You do not want to be doing this. If you pursue this dark path it will undo you. You will regret it for the rest of your life. And we *will* stop you, with every means at our disposal."

"I won't allow it," Marya snarled, filled with a sudden, unaccountable rage. "They don't deserve to die. I will protect my family, and they will be able to defend themselves, even from *you*. I will make sure of it!"

In response Sailor Pluto turned her back, and held her staff against a wall of thin air which rippled against the shadows. "Think carefully about what you are doing, Ono-san. Kidnapping, the stealing of energy - of life... You know this is wrong."

Then she paused. "Mita-san," she said to Lili after a moment. "I'm sorry."

Marya watched as Sailor Pluto stepped away from them and vanished beneath the shadowy curtains of her portal. How dare she! How dare she invade their workplace, and tell her to abandon the family that she was working so hard to rebuild!

"W-wait, please!" Lili whispered in despair beside her, and Marya turned to hold the woman as best she could. The embrace was awkward, around the mechanical harness.

"Don't worry, Lili, my precious girl. I won't let her harm you."

Poor Lili, she thought as the tired girl wept in her arms. Lili would receive the greatest gift, she decided then and there. She would be the one to protect her brothers and sisters.

"I will be back soon, Lili-chan," she said to try and reassure the pale young woman. "I will have something special made for dinner."

She left with Kizugi in tow, and her bat still perched on her shoulder. "Kizugi-san, we can't delay any longer. If the Sailor Senshi do not understand what I am doing then we no longer have the luxury of time. Move up my schedule as best you can."

Then after a moment's thought she added, "And do I have anything set for this Saturday evening, after the performance?"

"No, Marya-san."

"Then reserve it. I will be dining with Aino Minako-san again." How wonderfully fortunate to have met her, she thought with a laugh.

And at her back, her shadow laughed with her.

000

To Be Continued...

000

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(c) Nutzoide 2009-2011


	4. Monsters in the Grass!

World Shaking: Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Sailor Moon or anything that comprises it. This is a non-profit story written solely for my own enjoyment and that of anyone who wishes to read it. The story and original characters are mine. Please don't use them without permission.

000

World Shaking

- A Sailor Moon Fan-Fiction by Nutzoide -

Chapter 4: Monsters in the Grass!

When Hiding is No Longer Enough.

Makoto crept out into the hallway of Rei's home, intent on tracking down her errant girlfriend. It wasn't her shrine to be sneaking around in, of course, but Rei *had* left quite a while ago, and only to grab some sodas for them both. It had been a long day for Makoto, one that required her to juggle work all morning and lectures all afternoon, and she had been looking forward to a chance to unwind, knowing that she didn't have to return home tomorrow if she didn't want to.

Not that she and Rei were sleeping together constantly. They weren't even 'just sleeping' together all that much, which was why Makoto had been looking forward to it. After their initial flurry of interest - on both sides - they had calmed down and were now getting back to the task of being *in love* instead of infatuated, frustrated lovers. There was a lot they still didn't talk about where their relationship was concerned - Things that maybe should have been talked about months ago. But they were still young, Makoto realised that all too clearly, and they were both finding out how to deal with this relationship as they went along.

And tonight wouldn't be the night to talk. Rei had apparently forgotten that her grandfather had intended to have guests over, and only found out when Usagi's parents had shown up on the doorstep of the shrine after dinner.

Makoto had never known that Grandpa Hino met with *all* the Senshi's parents so regularly. Not frequently, but regularly. Even Rei hadn't known until recently, but then she hadn't thought to tell Makoto even after she *had* found out. Yes, that whole 'communication' thing could do with a little work.

And now, just as Makoto had feared, Rei had found herself caught by their friends' parents and drawn in. It was bad enough that Makoto did not really know how to relate to the other girls' parents, but for as much time as she spent there she was still technically a guest at the shrine. She couldn't just butt into their social event to steal her girlfriend back.

And Minako and Usagi's parents still didn't know about the whole *girlfriend* thing either. Well, she supposed they *knew*, but going in there and announcing it? As friends she wouldn't have hesitated to drag Rei away, or join in, but now... She didn't want to make it obvious that she and Rei were 'together'. It wasn't like she would go and kiss her in front of them or anything, but still... it would be awkward.

Not that she had much choice. The second that she looked into the main living room of the shrine Grandpa Hino spotted her, and of course he couldn't help but wave her inside as obviously as he could. "Ah, Makoto-chan! Come and share some tea! I'm sorry we have stolen Rei-chan from you, but my boys and girls haven't seen her for so long! I'm sure they have much to catch up on with you as well!"

Nice, Gramps, Makoto thought, sighing in defeat and padding inside. Very subtle.

The Tsukinos and Ainos she had met before, if briefly, and Mizuno Katsura had almost become an aunt to her in recent years. She had got the feeling that the Ainos didn't like her much the few time she had met them back in school - she was a rebel, and a bad influence on Minako - but she had never expected to see Setsuna sitting around the table with them.

"S-Setsuna-san? You're here too?"

Setsuna set down her cup and nodded, guileless and innocent. "Why would I not be? I do rather enjoy these meets. Come and sit down."

And, to Makoto's horror, she shifted over so that Makoto could share the same corner that Rei sat at, next to her Grandfather. Okay, that's not a problem, Makoto repeated in her head. Of course I'd want to sit next to my friend. Who left me waiting in her room and put me in this position. Oh, Rei, we are going to have words.

"We were just grilling Rei-chan on how her studies were going," Tsukino Genji said as Makoto was poured a cup of tea. "Usagi doesn't keep us informed in the way she used to, I'm afraid."

Almost opposites of the Ainos, Makoto liked Usagi's family and they clearly liked her. They shared the same, crafty humour that Usagi had been 'blessed' with, to varying degrees, and yet were all as nice a group of people as you could hope to meet. Unless you were related to them, according to Usagi, but then she and her brother had always driven each other mad. Even so, if Katsura was the understanding, generous Aunt that Makoto had never had, then the Tsukinos were the parents that she might have liked to have, if anyone had ever adopted her after her parents had died.

Of course, no one ever had, leading to its own share of difficulties, but Makoto liked to think that if Ikuko and Genji Tsukino had ever wanted to adopt, they might have picked her. Not that she wanted Usagi as a sister. She loved the girl like only the closest friend could, but that would have been a bit much.

"So how *has* your girlfriend been doing, Makoto-chan? Is she telling us fibs?"

Makoto almost spat out her tea in shock. Okay, a whole family of Tsukinos would be *way* too much.

She hoped she hadn't turned as red as it felt, and found herself unable to look at anything but her cup as she tried to rationalise what Genji had just asked her.

"Genji! Really, look what you've done to her!" Ikuko chided, smacking her husband's arm. "You shouldn't talk about such things! I-I mean, not like that at least!"

Oh God, now was *that* ever awkward. Genji was as flippant about her relationship as he could be, and despite correcting herself his wife sounded like she didn't even want to consider the L word. It least not in public, in front of the lesbians in question.

Not that either of them was lesbian, by the textbook definition. They had both dated boys, after all. They just... like each other better.

Except it had always gone wrong with the boys, somehow. And always so quickly.

She was startled out of her worrying introspection when she realised Genji was talking to her again.

"I'm sorry, Makoto-chan. I suppose we weren't meant to know? I wasn't quite sure how you broach the subject these days."

And to her surprise he did seem genuinely sorry. Well, he should be, after making her blush like that! She was surprised her hair hadn't caught fire!

"Don't worry, Makoto-chan," Katsura reassured her from across the table. "It is not something that needs to be said."

"And I wouldn't gossip about my own Haruka-chan and Michiru-chan if it were a problem," Setsuna said. "Right, Ikuko-san?"

Setsuna was putting Ikuko on the spot on purpose, Makoto could tell, but evidently Usagi's mother was used to it by now. "Of course not, Setsuna-san. They are successful girls, and I am sure you will be, Makoto-chan. Rei-chan."

What surprised Makoto was how casually they all spoke to one another with the obvious exception of the Ainos. What she remembered of Yokozuki and Kikon Aino was a willingness to speak their minds, especially from Minako's father. They avoided confrontations, but made their opinions knows by one means or another.

Now however they said very little, only speaking when directly engaged in conversation by one of the others. Instead, they seemed cautious, and studious of the others around the table, even of herself and Rei. Had there been some sort of disagreement between them and the others perhaps? Normally they would have been very eager to emphasise their daughter's newfound success. When the subject came up they weren't quite *modest*, but it was a close thing. Weird.

But that was none of her business. More important to her was the fact that, while the subject of her and Rei was not brought up again, Setsuna *did* let on how Haruka and Michiru were doing, especially with Michiru's work having received fair praise from the press. She left out everything to do with Ami, of course, and Katsura only mentioned the ambitious medical side of her daughter's living arrangements, but there was no awkwardness surrounding Haruka and Michiru's relationship.

That was oddly comforting, even though she wasn't quite comfortable having Minako and Usagi's parents know that ... probably know... she was doing... those kinds of thing... with a girl. Because she wanted to.

What would they say about her - and about *Rei* - when they *weren't* there?

Eventually Rei patted her on the shoulder, and got to her feet. "Come on, Mako-chan. Maybe I've embarrassed you enough for the night."

Yes, Rei had answered questions about how Makoto was doing these days, just as Makoto had haltingly answered them about Rei. They weren't treating Rei or her as 'my daughter's friends' any more. They had become 'that nice young woman we used to know as a child'. 'Who we consider a friend of our own now'.

Yeah, that was *weird*.

And as soon as they were out of earshot. "Rei! I can't believe you left me in your room!"

"I couldn't help it!" Rei whispered back, just as weirded out. "They ambushed me! I couldn't just refuse! I'm supposed to play hostess here!"

Makoto growled, which made Rei giggle a little - clearly less concerned about the whole thing than Makoto - but Makoto was eager to forget the whole embarrassing episode. Not that it had been all bad, but the embarrassing bits had been mortifying!

"Mako? Seriously, you're not mad, are you?"

Makoto realised she *had* been thinking about it again, and quickly stopped. Rei actually looked concerned. "Uh, what? Yes, I'm mad. But *maybe* I'll forgive you this time."

She smirked for her girlfriend's benefit. The sooner forgiven, the sooner forgotten, after all. "Why don't you find that CD you were telling me about? I need to get some of this 'today' out of my head."

000

Performing on stage six nights a week, non-stop for three months, sounded mad when Minako explained it to her parents or her friends. In truth she only worked about four or five hours a day, including makeup and costume before and after, so it was hardly a high-intensity job all day long.

Except Minako *had* been tiring far more easily than she had expected. The work *was* demanding, even for less athletic roles than hers. She was tiring of the same lines and the same routine, even after only eight weeks. The applause from the crowd was a wonderful compensation - and she had to face it, the pay was good incentive too - but the glamour was now wearing off.

It didn't help that, with the play running in the early evening, it left her out of the social loop. She would still go out with Usagi or Rei and Makoto at times, but for all their good intentions she would still be in bed during the mornings, and even Usagi had college to go too more often than not. It actually left her feeling a little lonely.

Lonely and tired were never a happy combination for Minako.

But at the same time she could now see what people meant when they said that a theatre was like a family. She now knew more about most of them than she *ever* needed to, and they all supported each other through the hard times or squabbled over petty differences like Usagi and Shingo used to do on an almost daily basis. Hikari was *so* particular about her cosmetics that she and Ichiro the make-up man now waged a war of silence whenever they had to share a room, and even though he was long married Yuuta now actually flirted with her Ono-sempai with knee-weakening skill! They had even thrown Minako a small surprise birthday party the week before!

And Minako had lost count of how often Ono Marya had helped her out now. She had felt guilty at first, riding the limousine home in exhausted bliss after Marya had first invited her to dine together. It was a *very* nice limo! Now, though, she felt far less tense in the business magnate's presence. Marya had gone out of her way to be approachable to several of her players, and Minako felt fortunate that she had been the first to receive such preferential treatment. She was even allowed to call her 'Sempai'.

Her inner schoolgirl felt faint at the idea, but it was not without reason. There was so much she could learn from her employer, both on and off the stage, so to refer to her as a respected senior should only be natural. Of course, really Minako just loved the idea of calling someone like Ono Marya her sempai. It was absurd, but so awesome! She just worried that she might start taking Marya's hospitable offers for granted, because some nights she *had* asked to have the limo deliver her home, just because she was so exhausted.

At least she was not the only one showing the strain. Everyone showed signs of the same fatigue, and even Yuuta said in all his years of acting this seemed to be among the most demanding roles he had ever played, though he had no idea why. He joked that he must have been getting old at last.

As they were clearing away that night, Minako once again found her Sempai congratulating them all, and slowly making her way to her side of the dressing tent.

"Minako-san," Marya said, a small but genuine smile on her face. "Moving, as always."

She looked around, noting that many of the others actors were already leaving.

"I plan on having late supper with Kashimura-san on Saturday night, after our performance, and I wonder if you would care to accompany us."

Minako's eyes widened. Marya was having dinner with Yuuta? Now *there* was a story!

"Oh, I wouldn't want to intrude, Ono-sempai."

"You would not be," Marya went on with humour in her voice. "I feel he might behave himself better if he was not left alone with me!"

Minako giggled openly. She was just as bad as Yuuta! "Sure! I'd like that, Ono-sempai! I'll keep him in line!"

And to Minako's surprise, Marya seemed genuinely moved that she had accepted. "Thank you, Minako-san."

What was that all about? Ono Marya, looking humbled over something so trivial. Idly Minako wondered why Marya would always have food served at the park, rather than go out to eat when she hosted. But then, she supposed, if you could afford such good chefs...

Family could be so strange sometimes, but that was no bad thing.

000

Ami sat on her bed, her eyes wandering to the door of her en-suite bathroom from behind her spectacles. She was trying to read her project notes, but she had gone over them twice now and her remarkable attention span had finally given up, deciding that it had better things to do. Her Mercury computer likewise sat idle on the bed, waiting to be fed data on a subject who had been in the bathroom for an hour.

Ami had been collecting data about Haruka's pregnancy using her Senshi computer since the university had green lighted her extra-credit project. Supposedly she was carrying out her research at the university labs, and a few privately owned institutions that didn't really exist, but in truth most of it happened in that room, using her own technology. She didn't like the deception, but it greatly reduced the amount of time she had to spend scanning and analysing her girlfriend under vastly inferior equipment.

Ami and Haruka did still make appearances at the university campus, and Setsuna had 'acquired' the 'proof' from the independent, fictional research groups involved. There were lots of inverted commas involved, but performing those studies the conventional way might well have taken more time that their child was willing to stay put inside her mother. Not to mention the funding and purpose built equipment required.

No, as long as no-one spent too much time digging the minor discrepancies in her story would never come to light. Small research bodies appeared and disappeared all the time, and Ami spent more than enough time on campus, and had been seen there with Haruka often enough to validate that side of the paper trail as well.

Until recently. Over the last few weeks Haruka had become more withdrawn and taciturn, and Ami had been willing to postpone her studies because of that. It was understandable enough. Haruka was a woman who liked to be in control of herself, and so the constant battering she was receiving from her hormones had been even more unwelcome than for some. She had traded in her grumbling and her morning sickness for annoyed reticence and overly tender breasts now, but few besides Haruka herself could have claimed it was an improvement for her.

Nothing had been done about the letter from Haruka's adopted sister, and Ami suspected that was when her brooding had begun. It did not seem too serious, no more so than her short-tempered streak had been, but Ami was now certain it stemmed from more than just discomfort and simple mood swings.

The room had been quiet for some time now, so Ami left her notes and glasses on the bed to stand by the door. "Haruka? Are you alright?"

"... I'm... fine."

She didn't sound fine, but then she hadn't done for the last week. But Ami could not put off her work any more than she already had done.

"It'll only take a few minutes. Then we can talk, okay?"

Talk about what, she didn't know. She just hoped that her lover was only worried about going under the scanner again, though why that might be was another mystery. Nothing had seemed wrong in any of her past tests or scans. Did Haruka know something that she didn't?

"Haruka?"

Perhaps Haruka heard the faint tremor of worry that had crept into Ami's voice, or was just determined that she could not hide in there forever. Either way, she finally opened the door, completely naked.

It was rare for Ami to see Haruka naked unless they were feeling exceptionally amorous, and she blushed out of reflex, but despite her reaction she was more confused than anything else. Early on Haruka had insisted that she remained clothed during the examinations, or as clothed as possible, even though Ami had never implied anything to the contrary. It had seemed odd, but Ami knew that her appearance meant a lot to Haruka. Whether in a suit or a bikini it didn't matter, as long as it was how she had *chosen* to look. Michiru had once told Ami that Haruka was more conscious about her self image than she let on, and perhaps that was why, but casual nudity or even just being caught unawares while dressing or in her underwear put her on edge.

Haruka despised the tradition of the Japanese public bath.

And she did not look happy now, either. Ami forced back her blush as concern took over from confusion, and she took Haruka's hands in her own. "Haruka? What's wrong?"

Haruka failed to meet her gaze, but the annoyed frustration she had seen so often that week flared in her eyes. "You can't tell?"

It was a painful accusation, but Ami shook her head. She *couldn't* tell, and it upset her that she had missed something so obviously important to the woman she loved. Until she *did* see it, for the first time, and realised why Haruka was naked.

Ami could almost feel herself beginning to glow in ecstasy. "Oh my God," she gasped. She let her had fall to Haruka's abdomen, to rest on the small rise that sat below her lover's navel. A bump, almost the diameter of a grapefruit, sitting at the base of Haruka's otherwise still trim stomach, where their child lay. "You... you were *hiding* it?"

Ami looked up into Haruka's now watering eyes, and the young woman's voice hitched. "It..."

Ami didn't know whether Haruka was going to cry out of happiness or terror, so she tried to choose for the both of them. "It's our baby!" she whispered. Ami could barely believe it herself. The rise of skin beneath her fingers, and the wall of Haruka's womb, was all that separated her from *her* child! "Our baby, Haruka."

And to her distress, Haruka began to sob. "I'm sorry! I... I knew it would matter to you, but..."

"Shh, it's okay. Why are you apologising? We're going to have a baby!" It had still seemed strange and surreal, but there was all the proof Ami would ever need.

But Haruka clearly didn't see it that way. She looked almost hysterical. "And I can't do anything about it! Y-you couldn't even see it a week ago! I don't... I don't want people t-to see that!"

That admission shocked Ami more than she could hide, and as soon as her wide eyes betrayed her Haruka's expression crumpled again. "No! Ami, I didn't mean it. Please, I didn't!"

She gripped Ami's hands as tightly as she could, but rest of her sagged in the doorway and collapsed as if all the energy had been drained out of her. She just sat propped up against the door frame, hiding her stomach behind her crossed legs and sobbing incoherently.

And Ami didn't know what to do. Of all the things she thought Haruka might have had trouble with during her pregnancy, this had not been one of them. Unable to hide her 'condition', was she now afraid to have a child after all? Even after Makoto had been so confrontational on her behalf over such things, did Haruka herself see it as an affliction? Or was she just scared that her body was no longer solely her own?

Ami dearly hoped that it was the latter, and nothing more.

After that moment of hesitation Ami knelt down next to her, and pulled Haruka's hands into her lap. "You don't want them to see the bump? You're worried they can tell?"

"I'm not ready," Haruka cried. "It's just... sitting there. On me. That's not right! It's not supposed to look like that!"

"Haruka," Ami chastised as gently as she could, "you must have seen women who are only just showing, like you. The baby starts off small, you know. It's only six centimetres long, right here." She laid a finger on the small rise in Haruka's abdomen. "It wouldn't show as prominently if you had been putting on weight like your doctor and I have been telling you. Your tummy is too trim."

A brief laugh burst through Haruka's sobs. "Ha, I guess that's what I get for focusing on track at school."

"Yes. And not eating more at dinner. Now, we can find you some baggier clothes if you want. You're too used to showing off that you're in good shape, even in men's shirts."

"It doesn't matter any more," Haruka lamented, fresh tears coming to her eyes. "That *bloody* reporter."

Ami frowned. "He's been harassing you?"

Haruka would not nod to admit it, but the venom that suddenly flooded her face was more than enough. "Last month, at the show, he was going on about how they should be able to see it soon. I hadn't seen him since, and I didn't even see he was there until after he caught me."

"What? When?"

Haruka sighed and shifted away, suddenly self-conscious again. "... It doesn't matter. It'll be in his f-fucking magazine soon enough anyway."

And, in contrast to what she had said before, she pulled her hand away and wrapped them around her stomach. "It's supposed to be mine." She must have realised how contradictory that sounded, and shook her head. "God, I... I don't know what I want. What the hell kind of mother am I?"

"One who cares too much what other people think." Ami shifted closer to her again, closing the gap that Haruka had opened. "And one who will be *wonderful* at it."

"I'm sorry, Ami. I just... keep freaking out. It just looks so weird, stinging out there. And the press... what are they going to say? I'm still Tenou Haruka, damn it!"

Ami looked at her levelly. "Then prove it to them. It's okay to be scared as long as they don't see it, right? That's what you tell Hotaru-chan and me. You don't have to let them see that you're pregnant if you don't want to," at least for now, she didn't say, "but you don't have anything to apologise for. You're a woman and you're going to have our child, that's *normal*!"

Then she blinked at her own oversight, and had to clear her throat. "Well, having a child is normal. My part is not quite as normal in this case."

But Haruka still seemed to need to reassure her. "Ami, it's not that I don't want it. I... I do! You don't know how much I do. I'm just a mess at the moment. I was scared, and then I thought you'd... be disappointed."

"Why?"

"Because I... I didn't show you. Because I was scared."

And it *was* a little disappointing. Just a little. But then, "*You're* the one having the baby, Haruka. And you're the one who has to put up with all the press, and the public, and with Michiru-chan and I, and all the changes going on inside you. That's a lot to have to handle, isn't it?"

Haruka seemed to appreciate the words, and shrugged. "Maybe. But I thought I'd be able to handle it better. I don't fall apart like this!"

"It doesn't matter if you do, as long as you let me help you through it. And Michiru-chan might want to help too, you know. She loves you dearly."

"Michiru-chan, eh?"

Ami nodded, smiling. "Yes. I think I'm getting to know her better, and she's not so different from us. She has her own... cute foibles. Like Usagi-chan and Mako-chan."

She got to her feet, and then pulled to get Haruka up. "I think we should show her, don't you?"

Haruka looked down, suddenly wary. "Yeah. But-"

Ami cut her off. "But?"

Haruka paused, as if she was going to say something, but changed her mind. "Can I put a robe on first? And my knickers."

"Of course. Then we can run my tests, yes?"

Haruka gave her a 'you study too much' look, which Ami was sure she had learned from Usagi. But at least she seemed amused enough with it. "Yes, Mizuno-sensei."

000

It had been a while since Petz had been out, and she had forgotten how the moonlight flattered her. She was not the most vain of her sisters by any stretch of the imagination, but she couldn't help sneaking a narcissistic glace into the windows of the other cars in The Moonlight Garden's car park. It was rare that she indulged in such conceit now that she was human - Calveras was much more of a peacock than she - but she was dimly aware that it helped bolster her lacking personal self-confidence.

What did she need to care what others thought when she was as beautiful as she knew herself to be?

Not that she did not try to change. She wanted to be liked by others, and wanted to be loved for who she was, now more so than ever. With the arrival of Aretsuki into their lives she had realised that she wanted a family of her own, and children to care for. Now if only she could break her old habits, and older fears, and trust herself with a man.

Until recently she had worried that her sisters had been right. That she had been too afraid to embrace a human life, and too incompetent to change. Now, with the disguised youma living and working alongside her, she knew that she and her sisters had been wrong.

Petz had come a very long way from the worried, cautious and uncomfortable start that those youma were working through.

Tyranya was an uncomfortable reflection of Petz herself. A strong willed, capable creature, convinced in her evil cause until the bitter end. Tyranya had led her sisters into a futile battle, losing one in the process, and had been forced to surrender for the sake of her remaining sisters' lives. Petz had *fought* her reformed siblings, and stabbed Calveras in the back in order to punish all of her 'traitorous' sisters together.

Tyranya might not have been related to any of her sisters by blood, but the principle remained the same. Sailor Moon had broken them, accepted them and forgiven them for all their faults, and as the heads of their families it was left to Petz and Tyranya to shoulder the unwanted burden of responsibility and shame for their actions.

But unlike Petz, Tyranya did not continue to try and wear the facade of seniority. Her disguise was simple and unassuming; a human who looked like any other. Well manicured, unpainted nails were her only concession to a kempt appearance - and her thick locks of silver hair, looking platinum blonde in human guise, remained as untidy as her un-ironed red shirt and khaki-green slacks.

Petz had tried to convince her that there was more to life now than worry and regret, but Tyranya was as stubborn now as Petz had been then. They were fools, the pair of them.

Like Koan, Berthier and Calveras had done, Tyranya's sisters were coping better with their new lives. Aretsuki remained cheerful and upbeat in her youth, disguised as a foreign student, forever on one holiday or another. It also meant that her skills at disguise did not need to be up to the standards of her sisters, and she could afford some inconsistency if she were to pass herself off as many different children.

And with her and Tyranya, Maxill had also moved into the cosmetics store. Like Koan, the first to be reformed also seemed to be the first to make the most of their newfound humanity. Looking like an Afro-Japanese Maxill bore a striking similarity to her youma form. Her head was shaved, her eyebrows plucked, and on a dark night she could have been mistaken for the featureless, raven-skinned youma who had been captured by Sailors Venus and Jupiter several months before.

But even the other youma seemed surprised how well Maxill had integrated into human society. She had taken up sports in her time outside the shop, spent far too much time with her inane human friends playing softball or shopping, and she had been the first of the youma to suggest dating a human, though apparently her choice of disguise did not make that as easy as it was for Berthier or Calveras. She was happy, and Petz was glad for that. She also wore a lot of yellow and pink, which Petz was not glad about in the least! The woman had *no* fashion sense *at all*. Green was and would *always* be the new black.

Shivis and Kaizi stood somewhere in between. Both lived outside the shop, and despite their own misgivings had integrated themselves into human society. Or back into human society, in Kaizi's case. She had enjoyed her past role as trainer at the gymnasium, and she had taken on another face in order to do so again. Not at the same gym, that would have been tempting providence, but at an executive sports complex in central Tokyo, catering to those who still found the time to keep in shape despite their busy schedules.

She still looked the part of the bodybuilder, but had made more of an effort to blend in and look like a native. As such she looked much shorter as a human, now 'merely' very tall for a Japanese, and had made sure to cultivate a charismatic face to offset her unusual physique.

Shivis had followed a similar route. She remained slender, but her disguise was one of unassuming mousiness. Her orange plumage was hidden as hair of the same bold shade, but she wore a pair of fake glasses to help give her an academic look. She had revealed her cunning streak in slipping into the Tokyo medical staff as a phlebotomist, attending blood drives to siphon off minute amounts of energy as she drained her donors of their blood. It was only a trickle, and never missed after in the light headedness of a blood donation, but it helped keep the youma fed.

They all still had to eat, after all. Human food could only do so much for them, and at least Shivis was willing to share the fruits of her labour. Tyranya had not yet been brave enough to try and feed herself, and neither Kaizi and Maxill had yet tried to do more than drink a little then and there from their customers. One casual touch, a quick overlap of hands or an adjustment of someone's posture, was all it took.

Petz and Koan had at least been helping Aretsuki get use to the idea of feeding at the shop. One simple bump in the doorway and the girl could quietly take enough energy to last her for days, leaving no-one the wiser.

At least they didn't need to *bite* their 'victims', as Tyranya still called them, in order to drain what they needed. Or worse yet, handle their heart crystals directly! That would have been difficult to explain away. As much as they might *want* to gorge on energy, to suck out even a third of a human life, they didn't need to. No human needs to eat prime steak every day either, when rice and pickled vegetables will suffice.

Draining people dry? That was energy gathering on a vast scale. The kind used to hatch and mature scores of youma faster for a new invasion. Or breach the walls between dimensions. Or to bypass the Gates of Time entirely and achieve forbidden time travel.

Petz smiled at her own morbidity and shook her head. If there was

ever a time for regrets, this certainly was not it. Tonight, for the first time, all nine of them were out - together - and *enjoying* themselves. Even Tyranya had a smile on her face. Not a smile of acceptance or thanks, or one to mask her bouts of melancholy, but one of soft, genuine contentment.

And the park? Well, it might have been made just for them. It was busy, but there were no oppressive crowds to channel them this way or that, and they could wander as they so pleased. Koan and Berthier chose to stay behind early on and watch Minako's play, and naturally Aretsuki wanted to join them, and convinced most of her sisters to join them. There would be other opportunities to see it, Petz was sure, but the draw to see one of their friends on stage was strong. In fact it was almost the entire reason Koan had come, and after closing their shop they had little time to get to the park and wander before the curtain rose.

Petz wanted to see the park though, and especially while the play had tied up many of the park's attendees. She was not one for crowds at the best of times, they tended to bring out the worst in her, and so she chose to explore during that quieter moment. It seemed more intimate to enjoy a garden if it did not belong to the thronging crowd.

And to her surprise Calveras chose to join her.

The two of them had always been rivals, more so than with their other sisters at least. Calveras still insisted on teasing and belittling her even to this day, usually in flagrant denial of her own faults. There were those few times, however, when Calveras was willing to step back and be a decent human being. Petz had never expected this to be one of those times though.

"Why didn't you stay to watch the show?" Petz finally asked as the pair of them entered the ornamental areas. "You and Minako-san always have so much in common."

Calveras threw back her head and laughed. "Oh, please, I have nothing in common with that child. I am far more sophisticated, *far* better with the men..."

"And *far* less successful." Petz couldn't help herself. Old habits died hard, and habits as well ingrained as theirs tended to put Petz and Calveras in *their* places instead.

"Yes, well, we can't all be superstars," Calveras admitted. It was a quiet, resigned admission, but it still came through gritted teeth. None of them liked to admit their failings, and Calveras was a master of diverting attention away from hers.

"I am jealous as well," Petz admitted, now that her sister was so much less likely to turn it into a barb. "Not of Minako-san, of course."

"Of Usagi-chan, maybe? Or perhaps Michiru-san? Maybe there is something you'd like to tell me, Petz?"

That was a faster recovery than had been expected, and she gave her younger sister a brief glare. "I do imagine what I might have been able to accomplish with Usagi-chan's skill, and power. A little clumsiness is a small price to pay for the loyalty she inspires. Magic powerful enough to back up her resolve is no small matter either, given her capacity for it."

"That is so very like you, Petz. Both romantic and practical, and always to excess in both cases." Calveras stretched, and gave a yawn. "This place is relaxing, I must admit. I am ready to curl up under a tree and nap!"

Petz had to admit that the park was having a similar effect on her.

They were interrupted by a young couple passing on the path, both wearing black, who stopped to stare in a way that suddenly made Petz feel very self conscious.

"Hey, what are you looking at?" Calveras said, suddenly defensive. "Is my mascara smudged?"

"Naw, lady, those are some wicked tattoos," the young man said with a heavy accent. "Are they, like, permanent? Kinda risky, eh?"

"Yeah, really cool," his girl agreed. "Uh, the Moon Witches, right? From, what, five-six years ago? You get arrested for 'em or anything?"

"Yah, I heard some of those sketchy cosplayer weirdos got booked for that kinda stuff after Tokyo got whipped by that gold chick. But just that?" The black clad young man pointed to his own forehead. "I guess that's cool enough to let go, huh?"

Petz and Calveras turned to look at each other. There, in the middle of their foreheads, were their Black Moon Clan sigils - an upside down crescent moon, its points aimed towards the ground, coloured pure black. The one Sailor Moon had cleansed them of when they had accepted her chance to embrace a human life.

"Yes," Petz lied, knowing she was going pale. "These are... nothing. Just a little statement. About life."

"Yah, awesome. Gotta make a statement, or what's the point, yah? Stay cool, ladies. Later."

Petz and Calveras turned back to stare at each other as the black-clad pair left. "Sister, your crest is showing."

"S-so is yours, big sister. What... What's going on? We're human now, aren't we?"

Then, back down the path towards the entrance, they heard the screaming start.

000

The play had been going well, Minako thought. Right up until the second half when four youma erupted from the audience, sending people running in every direction. She and her co-stars stared in shock before they too bolted.

She couldn't have thought of a better show stopper herself.

The problem was that she knew these youma very well, and they couldn't have come here just to make a fuss! Could they? If they had Minako was going to be *really* pissed at them! But while people fled Minako took in the scene, and if anything the youma looked just as worried as the humans around them, if not more so. They did not leap to attack, or snag frightened people that fled past. Tyranya's own scream might have inspired terror, but there was nothing behind it but panic!

So why the hell had they dropped their disguises?

Minako didn't have time to worry about that though. After the whole student disappearance thing the last thing the park needed was more headlines scaring people away. And not only did Minako know it, but from the other side of the stage Marya clearly did as well. She must have had a will of iron not to have fled with everyone else, but she stared in disbelief at what was happening in front of her. Had she noticed the 'monsters'' odd behaviour as well?

Whatever the case, Minako had to help. Koan and Berthier were trying to talk to the now openly identifiable youma, and that would only make it look stranger to anyone actually watching. Or taping it.

She ran into the backstage tent and grabbed her handbag, ignoring the shouts from her stage family when she vanished again. She had her communicator and her transformation pen, and those were what mattered most right now.

000

Her companions arrived one by one over the following twenty minutes, but Venus had the situation under control before even the first of them made it to the park.

The other two Black Moon sisters had arrived just as Sailor Venus leapt into action. It was risky having those women around when she had a plan both to get the youma out of their mess *and* hopefully save the park some face. She barrelled into Tyranya, obviously the least lucid of the four youma right now, and pinned her to the ground.

"Easy," she said, just loud enough for the other three to hear her. "Pretend to struggle. Now what the hell are you doing?"

"I don't know!" Tyranya gasped, the wind knocked out of her, and still on the edge of panic. "This isn't our fault! Please, Sailor Venus, you *must* believe me!"

"It's true," Shivis said, having immediately understood what Venus had in mind and making a feeble show of trying to pull her off Tyranya. "I did not even realise it, but our disguises were taking more and more effort to maintain. I just could not conceal myself any longer."

Venus nodded and leap away to apparent 'safety'. She turned to Koan and Berthier as they called their arriving sisters over. "Ladies, you should run! We will take care of this!"

All four of the Black Moon sisters watched in shock as she pressed her fingers together and shot out a shaft of energy at Maxill, with a cry of "Crescent Beam!"

The shot went wide, but then Maxill had dodged away from an attack that had never been meant to hit her. "How is this going to get us out of here?" Maxill hissed, trying not to let the onlookers around the edge of the picnic ground hear.

The blast had made the crowd even more cautious though, and after that few were brave enough to remain watching even from a distance. Getting caught in the crossfire of a Sailor Senshi battle proved more and more dangerous any time the results were shown on the evening news or Senshi Special documentaries.

"Easy," Venus replied, hooking a Love-Me Chain around her so they could keep up the pretence while still able to talk. "If any of them have a video camera, or even a phone, they're going to recognise you from last time if they haven't already. We need to make them think you are just more of the same kind of youma, and 'kill' you while no-one is looking. Uh, where's Kaizi-san? Is she here too?"

Maxill nodded as she pretended to struggle against the chain. It actually hurt, but what could she do? "She said she'd see you afterwards. She, uh, isn't big on plays and things."

"I'll have to teach her sometime then." Venus looked around to see the Black Moon sisters still looking on pensively, and trying to cover the new markings on their foreheads. Okay, if they weren't going to play along, Sailor Venus was going to make use of them.

"Kick me away," she whispered to Maxill, and the black, malleable youma did as she was told. Minako let her chain fade away and staggered back, before leaping over to the four cosmetics addicts.

"Hey, run already. You're supposed to be bystanders, not youma sympathisers!"

"But what about us?" Calveras asked anxiously. "I mean, our family mark has come back!"

"No idea," Venus replied, "but we'll worry about that later. Go and find Kaizi and get her to run. And tell her to stay out of sight if she can't disguise herself either. We'll meet, uh," she stumbled over her thoughts, trying to come up with a meeting place where they wouldn't be seen, "on top of Tokyo Tower! No, wait, that's stupid. Your shop. I'll get the youma there somehow."

They all nodded and the four sisters ran off to find Kaizi, all trying to hide their marks with their hair or makeup from their compacts.

That left Sailor Venus with four youma pretending to stalk up to her, and needing to get out of the park and away from the onlookers as soon as possible. Oh, how easy would it be to steal the show before the others arrive, she thought. But that would be too easy. This needed to look real.

She let off another Crescent beam, just as Sailor Mars arrived looking very confused.

Okay, two of us fighting them off would be believable, Venus though with a smile. Let's get this show started.

Of course, she still had to tell them what to do without giving the game away to the onlookers, a speechless Ono Marya included. Not so easy.

000

Despite the difficulty she did manage to succeed, with great style Minako thought, and the Sailor Senshi's fight with these 'new' youma would surely make the news the next day.

It was very late when those who had been able to make it to the fight finally snuck back into the centre of Tokyo in civilian guise. For the Senshi and the Black Moon sisters it had been easy, but smuggling five not inconspicuous youma back into the sisters' van at the park entrance had been more of a trial than the mock fight that had preceded it. Getting them into the shop at the other end had been child's play in comparison.

Of the Senshi, only four others had been able to make it to the park, so it was Usagi, Rei, Ami, Hotaru and Minako who accepted Koan's hospitality in her shared flat above the shop. Petz, Calveras and Berthier were in the flat above that, helping to console the youma. Usagi had done all she could on the journey back, but even now there was an air of anger and dejection among the newcomers.

"Makoto must have been caught up at school," Rei said as she accepted the cup of tea that Koan offered. "They've been pretty hard on getting her to make up her grade this time, while she can."

"It's alright, Rei-san." Koan sat down with her own cup, her usual enthusiasm subdued by the night's turn of events. "It's, ah, flattering that so many of you came to our rescue."

Usagi beamed at her. "Why? We do it for everyone else. Why not our friends?"

Koan blushed, and shared in Usagi's smile. "Friends. Yes, I would have liked to think that you might run to us if we ever needed you again. Now I know for certain. I'm only sorry that it was us causing you more problems."

"Rubbish," Minako replied, her eyes far harder than Usagi's. "It's someone *else* that did this to you. They're the ones making work for us."

Ami asked the question that had been on everyone's mind for the last hour. "But who?"

No one had an answer to that. Instead Usagi's phone chimed to break the worried silence. "Ah, that's Mamo-chan and Luna. Can we let them in?"

Koan nodded and set her cup aside, before leading Usagi back downstairs.

It gave Hotaru the chance to voice a worry that she had dared not around anyone but her fellow soldiers. "Is it someone at the park?"

All eyes turned to Minako, who returned their gazes with defiance.

"What? No, it can't be. I'm sure it's a coincidence."

"Minako-chan," Rei urged, "is there *anyone* there who might be suspicious. It would only take one person..."

"No! I... I don't know! I haven't met *everyone* who's ever worked there, okay? But I can't imagine anyone I *do* know being a youma in disguise. I mean, besides the ones we know."

"Not that it'll stop you investigating, will it Mina?"

Minako looked around in surprise to see Artemis and Luna in the doorway, being followed by Usagi, Mamoru and Koan.

And Artemis had got it in one. He knew her far too well, even after everything that she had experienced in Seiji.

"That's your, 'I'm going to get to the bottom of this even if it kills me, and I won't tell anyone so they don't worry' voice," he added. "Minako-chan incongruity number 24."

Minako frowned at him. "You're numbering me now?"

She was met by a smirk from her pet/advisor.

"But yeah. We'll find out what happened. I promise. Even if I have to stake out my own job."

And to Minako's surprise, Luna actually looked... proud of her?

"Just remember, you have a lot of friends backing you up," Luna said, sitting down beside Usagi and Mamoru as Usagi filled her fiance in on the situation.

Minako nodded, suitably lectured for the moment, so Luna turned to the others. "But I guess from all the blue faces that we don't really know anything yet?"

The Senshi's heads all shook in turn. "Not yet," Ami replied for them. "I even did a quick scan of the area, but I couldn't find anything out of the ordinary. Either is it well hidden enough not to show anything on my computer, or the source of the energy drain had already left when I got there."

"But it *was* an energy drain?" Mamoru asked. "Were there any humans who needed help?"

"No," Ami replied. "That is the strangest part. Their energy levels were no lower than you would expect after a long day's work, at last. If they *had* been drained, it was not any notable amount that was taken."

Mamoru thought on that. "How much do our youma take when they feed?"

Ami hesitated. "Again, not much, but enough to show a trace of the process when I monitor it, or scan them shortly afterwards."

"But the principle is the same, I think," came another new voice from the doorway. Shivis. Beside her stood Maxill, Tyranya and Petz.

"The drain was minute," she said, stroking at the plumage on her arm in discomfort. "I couldn't tell it was happening, but it was a sustained effect. And it must have been targeted on us youma, or if not us then over the entire park, since Kaizi also lost her disguise even though she was not at the play."

"And we lost our 'humanity'," Petz said darkly. She held up her hand and to everyone's surprise, with little more than a twitch of her fingers, a crackle of black lightning reached out between her fingertips. "How exactly did you 'make us human', Sailor Moon?"

Usagi stared in shock. She had no idea *what* so say. "I... I don't know. It just... works. It healed everyone who got turned into youma, even back when we were fighting the Dark Kingdom."

"But it couldn't 'heal' us," Maxill said, simply making the observation. "You said so yourself. We have always been youma."

"But they *are* human," Usagi replied, at a loss to explain it herself. "You were, weren't you? Before you came back in time?"

"Yes," Petz answered. "That was why we took on our powers. It was for vanity, and for strength."

"Then perhaps whatever process gave you your power changed you in a more fundamental way than a youma transforming a person." Ami opened up her little super computer again, and began to brows what information she had on the subject, in case anything caught her eye. "It takes months for a person to 'mature' into a full youma, correct?"

"Yes," Tyranya said. "A new child can take anything from seven months to two years to mature again, mentally. They... slowly lose their garish physical connections to their human life's psyche during that time."

Petz frowned at herself, and lowered her head. "We had been baptized under Wiseman for longer than that. Much longer."

"When you tried to change them back," Shivis said, again hesitantly, but obviously wanting to help, "I think your silver crystal did all that it could to do so," she told Usagi. "But perhaps it could not change them fully, and so used its positive energy to suppress Petz' and Koan's power, and has kept them suppressed until now. They would have essentially become human again, but in fact had a strong thread of energy as a container of sorts for their supernatural natures."

Ami cottoned on to what Shivis had in mind. "And if what happened tonight was stealing life energy specifically, especially a certain spectrum of energy, it might have drained only from that most concentrated source - the energy keeping your powers contained."

Shivis nodded. "Our magical disguises also act as an energy 'barrier' of sorts. Energy focuses outside our bodies, to create the magical disguise. That would be the first energy to be stripped away by anything trying to drain us. At least without physical contact."

"But to drain energy *without* contact..." Tyranya stumbled over her words. "That requires technology, and a lot of energy to even begin the process in the first place. I can't imagine that any other youma managed to escape from the Dark Kingdom now, but if they have... And if it is the Tyrants that have managed it..."

"Don't worry," Mamoru said in reassurance. "Whatever the case, we'll make sure this stops. And soon."

"It is what our girls are trained for," Luna added, confident in her charges.

That was not Usagi's highest priority now though. She got to her feet, her face strong, but with regret echoing in her eyes. "I'm sorry if I misled you," she said, looking to Koan and Petz. "I can change you back again. You're still my friends, no matter how human you are."

Koan smiled at her, genuinely grateful, "Thank you, Usagi-chan."

But Petz shook her head, and shocked Koan by placing her hand on her sister's shoulder. "No. Maybe it's better this way. We're not human any more, and maybe we haven't been since Wiseman took Rubeus... But if this is the way it is, I want to be human because it's what I *choose* to be. Not because it's all I have left. "

She looked up to Usagi. "Please, let us think first. If you can trust us with this power."

She held out her hand and let her black lightning crackle across her palm again.

"If I was ever really human then I shouldn't need magic to pretend to be one now. And if not..." she gave Usagi a scared smile, "then I hope you will be strong enough to end my charade properly."

Usagi was horrified at what Petz was asking. "I won't kill you!" she exclaimed, but Petz shook her head.

"I hope you don't have to, but I've wondered for these last six years; Am I really a better person than when I first tried to end your lives? I would like the chance to prove to myself that I am."

And maybe, she thought as she waited nervously for Usagi's answer, maybe I can be more help to everyone like this.

Usagi looked pensive for a moment, but she didn't look away before her expression softened and she smiled. "Of course," she said, with complete honesty. "You are. You'd changed when you first asked to be human again. I trust you."

000

"Do you really have to stare?" Haruka asked, sitting up against the padded headboard of their bed. Michiru lay in her lap, playing with Haruka's fingers, but though she tried not to her idle, wandering gaze kept drifting to Haruka's stomach and at last she had been caught. Michiru knew better, but she couldn't help herself.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, bringing Haruka's hand to her lips and placing a kiss on her knuckles as an apology. "But you're just too tempting not to look at."

Haruka had taken to wearing a shirt to bed in her futile attempts to conceal her showing bump, and now she had been found out Michiru pulled the garment away properly. "You are such a lovely fool."

Haruka grew a small, wry smile. "I know. And stop undressing me."

Haruka's smile was mirrored by the impish quirk that appeared on Michiru's lips. "A shirt and boxer shorts doesn't count a 'dressed'. Not even for you." She sighed, and reached up to Haruka's cheek. "Don't worry about this afternoon. I couldn't be there either."

"This is the *worst* time to have more trouble coming our way."

Michiru knew better than to disagree. "Maybe so, but we're all going to have to make our sacrifices. Most of us have to skip work or school to fight evil. At least your excuse is unselfish." She placed a hand over the small bump on Haruka's belly. "We can't have you open to attack. Even Luna and Artemis get targeted when things go bad. Or they leap out into the line of fire."

She gave her petulant girlfriend a meaningful smirk. "And you *know* you would as well."

"Eh, well... You know how I'm such a lovely fool like that."

Yes, Michiru really did still love her. Madly. Even after everything they had been through. "Yes, that you are."

She sighed, and settled herself back into Haruka's lap. "When are you going to stop wearing that to bed?"

Haruka looked down at the shirt that was now buttoned only over her chest. "Soon. Maybe."

"You *know* how pretty you are. And it's your fault I haven't been able to stop giggling whenever I remember you coming in to show me yesterday. That just wasn't fair, making me broody like that so suddenly."

"I know. I like it when you get excited."

"Don't keep the shirt too long then. I *am* going to fawn over you whenever I can."

Haruka sighed and nodded, letting her fingers intertwine with Michiru's again. "As long as it's you, I can handle that."

That was acceptable. "Don't worry," Michiru said reassuringly. "You'll feel better soon. I know you will."

"Thanks."

They sat there together for a while, just enjoying each others presence until the faint sound of the front door reached their ears.

"That's our girls," Michiru said. "We should say hello before they think we've gone to bed already."

Haruka looked around them. "Haven't we?"

Michiru couldn't help but smile. "I'll get your robe, but at least take off the shirt first."

000

As expected, the new Sailor Senshi fight at The Midnight Garden made the national headlines the next day. Wild speculation and prophesizing were in abundance, from tales of inter-dimensional vengeance against the Senshi to the coming of a new apocalypse for Tokyo which would rival the devastation Galaxia left in her wake.

The part Ami liked, however, was the note of how easily the 'new' youma had been driven from the park and defeated. Even with all the doomsayers in the papers, confidence in the Sailor Senshi's ability to defend Japan seemed to be at an all time high after this last incident.

That was nice. There were always calls on talk shows and special reports for the Senshi to do more - to become full time heroes and police the country themselves - but rarely did people seem to genuinely appreciate what they *did* do until a crisis hit. And even then, there were all of the things they *should* have done, and the few unfortunate victims who *should* have been saved. To hear people saying that they felt safe simply because the Senshi were out there somewhere... It was a welcome lift to the spirits.

People might have felt like that more often if the Senshi did give interviews, and make some public statements on television. It might have given them more confidence to have people like Minako or Usagi addressing their concerns, but that was a dangerous road to take. They were only ten people, and all the magic in the world was not enough sometimes. If they started taking responsibility so openly then they would be blamed for incidents that *no-one* could have prevented, not even Sailor Moon. It was better to remain anonymous, doing what they could when they were needed, no matter what people said.

Even interviews like Minako and Uranus' after they had returned from Seiji had come with their share of backlash. Scientific communities around the world were up in arms about the alternative dimension theory, and all racing to be the first ones to prove or disprove it, with technology that could not hope to do either. It had been bad enough when they had been arguing over how the Senshi's 'magic' worked.

Yes, staying out of the public eye was for the best, and with that thought Ami marched into the offices of the AKB publishing company.

AKB were not a big publisher, responsible for putting out a half dozen or so gossip and home living magazines. They were not high-brow journalism, but they were popular amongst women with little time or inclination to read anything more demanding.

AKB were also the employers of one Karasuro Jin, and it was his little cubicle office that Ami was ushered to when she reached the third floor.

"Mizuno-san, please, take a seat," Jin offered, smiling like a perfect host as she stood from his desk. "Can I offer you coffee?"

"I'm fine," Ami said, taking the offered seat.

"So what brings you to my humble den?" Jin, asked, thinking nothing more of the coffee pot in the hallway. "It has been months since we last met properly. I trust Tenoh-san and Kaioh-san are well?"

It was an innocent enough question to most, but then he was a gossip journalist and Ami had made sure to keep her guard up. "I am not here to give an interview, Karasuro-san. I am here because of this."

She laid the latest issue of the magazine in question on the desk. The cover was of Haruka and Michiru walking hand in had around a clothing store, obviously not yet aware of their cameraman.

"A lovely picture, I thought," Jin said as he looked down. "And as far as public interest stories go theirs makes for a nice change of pace, doesn't it?"

Privately Ami had to admit that it did. It was far less invasive and speculative than she had feared, and the majority of the pictures around the article were acceptable enough. There was, however, the picture focused on Haruka's stomach as she had reached to the upper shelves for a larger size of jean, and there were several of the pair's more public indiscretions as well. Not that they would have minded being seen with their arms around each other at the time, or caught pecking a cheek, but being caught on photo made it seem far less... casual.

"I understand that you are fond of covering homosexual issues, Karasuro-san," Ami said, obviously evading the question, "and that is commendable enough. However, pregnancy can be stressful enough without being stalked by paparazzi. For Haruka-san's sake, and her child's, I would like you not to use these methods for the duration of her pregnancy."

Jin sighed, and sat back in his chair. "Mizuno-san, Tenoh-san is a celebrity. She is more than used to the public eye, and if she won't come out for them then they will pry. That's how things go. She is not shy about the camera."

"Perhaps not," Ami conceded, "but a lot is changing for her during this time and this additional stress is affecting her health. I have looked into your past work, Karasuro-san, and I wouldn't be here banging my head against a wall if I thought you did not care. You don't usually resort to hidden cameras and stalking. Why now, when it is obviously affecting her?"

Jin remained expressionless, but there was something in his eyes that seemed to be assessing whether she was being truthful, or just whining to have her friend left alone. "Tenoh-san is obstinate, Mizuno-san. She always has been. This issue could make her and Kaioh-san important again for the gay community, who have been too reliant on one shot pop stars and overplayed TV drama recently. They can't just choose to have a child and then hide away for months like this. Haruka-san is seen maybe once a week, if that? That's not like her."

"Then you do not know her as well as you think, Karasuro-san," Ami replied, uncharacteristically blunt. "She deserves her privacy, and unless you want to drive her further away from the camera, you should give her that privacy. To say nothing of her health when she is too worried about being followed or photographed to think straight, let alone take proper care of herself."

"That sounds like something people might want to hear about as well, Mizuno-san."

Ami stopped short, realising she might just have given him more ammunition with which to hunt up a story.

"How about she actually gives me an interview about it sometime?"

Ami didn't know whether that was a way out for them both or just for her, but she did not take the bait whole. "That's not my place to say. And I would not ask her quite yet," she added, giving him a dry smile. "She is not very happy with you at the moment."

Jin nodded, not looking entirely satisfied, but having been given food for thought at least. He nodded, and rose to his feet. "Alright. I'll do that. And incidentally," he pulled a card from his pocket, "we had someone contact us a little while back. Some school kid who was after something. I was going to look into it, it sounded like a decent scoop, but you might want to pass it on to Tenoh-san before we have that interview. That's also my card, if she happens to change her mind about me in the mean time."

Ami took the business card and flipped it over to see some hand written notes on the back, a few web addresses, and a name:

Tenoh Maki.

000

Rei was very glad to have wrangled the day off that Saturday. Her own schooling and part-time work were both less intensive than Makoto's were these days but, combined with a poorly timed late night running around greater Tokyo as Sailor Mars, the week had wiped her out.

Today she could afford to put off what remained of the weeks homework and she made the effort to dress in her red and white robes for the morning. She certainly hadn't intended to do anything requiring more effort than sweeping the front of the shrine, so that was what she did. The late autumnal leaves weren't going to clear themselves up, and letting her do it at her own lazy pace was as much sloth as her grandfather would let her get away with. He was a lenient landlord, often so laid back that he might have been asleep, but he did expect *some* work to be done on occasion.

Especially since she had planned to spend the afternoon crashing out with Makoto at her apartment, and that signalled the end of the day's work for both of them.

While the shrine was often more convenient for them as a group, Rei knew that the extra trip was more than her girlfriend needed right then. Makoto was willing to go there, and both Rei and her grandfather were happy to host, but Makoto did spend a fair amount of time bussing her way to and from the shrine these days and it wasn't the shortest of trips from her flat.

As such Rei had been welcomed in with open arms when she arrived ten minutes late - her hair just wouldn't behave after her morning's sweeping! - and she was glad to see that Makoto seemed willing to relax rather than spending what time she'd had after work tidying for her arrival.

"What? I can't just have you walking in when there's stuff everywhere," was Makoto's usual excuse, but it was feeble considering the usual state of Rei's room at the shrine whenever Makoto stayed over, and Rei told her as much.

"Well, that's because you're a slob," Makoto joked in return. "I'll house train you yet!"

It wasn't a day for worrying about the fight, or Makoto's college work, or for rushing about town with the boundless energy of their high school years. Instead, curling up on Makoto's comfortable couch was all that really seemed worthwhile, so they did just that, sitting at opposite ends, with a hot drink in their hands and Makoto's toes sitting on top of Rei's.

"I've been thinking," Makoto said after they'd exhausted the meagre offerings of daytime television. "Do you think I might be like Haruka-kun?"

"Huh? Mako, you're *nothing* like Haruka-san. Except how handsomely tall you both are." After all, Rei thought, what about the two *was* alike? Makoto revelled in the womanly arts while Haruka actively abstained from them, or at least gave that impression. Makoto was earnest and outgoing and Haruka's charm was in being mysterious and elusive. With Makoto you saw who she really was, even when she was trying to suppress her instincts. When Haruka was flirting you saw what you *wanted* to see, which was all that she intended to showed you.

To Rei's surprise it didn't seem to be what Makoto wanted to hear. Of course, Makoto was very fond of Haruka, but hadn't she already lost the desire to emulate her?

"Handsomely tall?" Though not altogether satisfied Makoto still smiled. "Is that what you're calling it?"

Rei 'hmmm'ed, growing a smile of her own. "How about 'stunningly' then? 'Gorgeously'?"

"Now you're just making fun."

"Don't complain when I'm flirting with you. It doesn't happen often, you know." Rei leaned her head into the back of the couch, looking at Makoto at an angle. "What part of you is like Haruka-san then?"

Makoto looked down at her empty mug. "I don't mean a part of me. Just... I've been wondering, maybe I am a lesbian after all?"

Rei blinked and sat up straight again. "Eh? Mako-chan, I hate to break it to you, but we've been dating for the last five months. Unless you've been thinking about your old sempai when we've slept together, and God I *really* didn't want that idea in my head and if it's true I'm *so* going to kill you."

Thankfully Makoto giggled. "Of course not!" Now it was her who rested her head against the sofa back, wondering quietly. "But that's what I was thinking about. You know, my sempai, and... guys in general. What if I was gay all along, and I just didn't know it? I mean, maybe they could tell, or maybe I was doing something so they *wouldn't* stick around. Subconsciously, I mean."

Rei was sceptical. "You really think so? You were pretty ferocious when you had a guy in your sights, you know."

"I don't know. I mean, I thought they were handsome, but it's not like I don't know which girls are pretty either." She gave Rei a meaningful look, and Rei blushed. "So maybe I was going after the handsome guys because I thought that was what it's like to like a guy?"

"And you felt that with the girls too?"

It was a flaw in Makoto's logic, and as soon as Rei had said it Makoto knew she was right. "Uh, no, I guess not. But I didn't feel like that about you either, and you're the only one who's ever made me feel like *this*. You're the only one I've ever been really in *love* with, I think."

Rei could only blush, her heart fluttering as Makoto spoke.

"I just don't know why I was crushing on them. Or why they never even wanted to date me properly, instead of staying around just so I'd have sex with them. I thought that might be the answer, if I was really girl-only like Haruka-kun is, and I've just been fooling myself all this time."

Rei didn't have an answer. She'd tried looking for one herself, back when she'd still been scared of the idea of intimacy with Makoto, and she had not found a satisfactory answer for herself. "Mako, maybe you're thinking too hard about it. I know I still find guys attractive, and if I wasn't," she stumbled over her tongue a little, "if I wasn't in love with you I'd still be dating them. The only other girls I've ever liked were, A; involved already and *not* gay, or b; someone I only got along with when we were both blind drunk."

She shifted over on the sofa so she was sitting next to Makoto instead of toe to toe. "And if Michiru-san can't help me work it out then maybe it's not as simple as people say."

"You asked her?"

Rei nodded. "Yup. She always knew she was into women. I knew it was possible that I could like girls after a while, but I never expected to find one I could actually try dating. Or would want to. And here you were all along. Weird, huh?"

That seemed to be enough of an answer for Makoto. Maybe it wasn't something she was ever going to understand, and maybe that didn't matter. Despite the problems in her past, it had worked out better than she could have hoped for. "Weird?" she asked with a kiss. "I'd say fortunate."

000

Saturday evening for Minako was less relaxed, even less so than her evenings usually were. She had spent at least an extra hour getting ready for the performance because of the dinner she would once again attend with her boss, and this time with the most senior of her co-stars as well. It might not have taken so long to get ready had she not been bubbling down the phone to Usagi about it all the while.

Her anticipation was not all happiness and light though. She needed to find out what the hell had happened at the park the night before, and why their friends - *all* of their extra-dimensional ones, in fact - had be the victims of the kind of tactics that they would have been *perpetrating* had they still been working for the forces of evil.

Not that Minako saw evil as being quite so clear cut these days, but dammit, it was the principle of the thing that mattered!

However, behind the scenes of the show there seemed little to learn. Everyone was still on edge about the 'youma attack', and even Minako's carefully prodding about anything strange that the youma might have been there for came up blank. After all, none of her co-stars had worked at the park much longer than she had. What was there to know?

Realistically Minako needed to be investigating the engineers, planners and caretakers; the ones behind the scenes who had access to the whole park, day or night. There was plenty of opportunity there to set up traps, magical barriers or to do whatever they did while patrolling to pick up litter or check the lights.

But on the up side the scare the night before had not put the public off this time. If anything people came specifically to see if there was any remnant of the Senshi's fight, and the play was as well attended as ever. It was also nice to hear her friends beam about having seen Sailor Venus take on four youma single handed, at least until the super-heroine's companions had turned up to help. That was a cool ego boost.

After the show they said their goodbyes for the weekend, and commiserated with Minako that she hadn't seen Sailor Venus's valiant stand (how cool is that!) However, instead of making their own ways to their car and scooter Yuuta and Minako waited for Marya's re-appearance.

It was quite something, they had said quietly between themselves, but Marya did not need her costume to have the presence of a star. The business woman who emerged had lost none of the mystery or charisma of the pale, caped narrator of their haunting drama. Kashimura Yuuta had spent decades honing his stage presence and acting skill, but Ono Marya might as well have been born with the first, and gifted with the second from her parents. Minako had to wonder, then, whether her employer was always playing a part, or whether it was a challenge to suppress her natural bearing on the stage.

"I do apologise, but dinner tonight will be delayed a little," Marya said, once they had returned to the living quarters within the haunted manor. The park would still be open for many hours yet, but the one problem with these late shows, they all agreed, was that the earliest they could eat was 8.30pm, and that was at one of the park's food stands or the restaurant. It was not a short trip back home for some of them, even just into Tokyo proper.

Strangely she paused in the main office waiting room, bringing Minako and Yuuta to a sudden stop. "The truth is, these dinners of ours are not purely social, or just recompense for the hassle you have both undergone since this park's opening. There is another project that I have had in mind for some time, and now that I have come to know you, I was hoping the two of you could help head it for me."

Then, from Marya's own office, a pale girl emerged. She wore black from head to toe, and was made up as if she had been a vampire from their play, though without the press-on fangs Dracul or Vampiru wore. Was she a new actor? Nothing had been announced about anyone having to be replaced. More likely she was a new ghost for the haunted house itself, but Minako couldn't shake the feeling she recognised her.

She looked over to Yuuta, and he seemed even more surprised. "Is... Isn't that..."

"I'd like you to join her," Marya went on, as if Yuuta hadn't said anything. It was now that Minako noticed, Marya's poise had changed. Gone was the tight, professional edge in her voice, and with it the distance there had seemed to be between her imposing self and Minako.

"I'd like you to join us," that strange, serene voice whispered. "As family, my friends."

Minako didn't get a chance to think about what Marya meant. Her warrior's instinct - that little part of Sailor Venus that let her know she was needed - told her that they were not alone. While Marya had spoken someone had slipped behind them, and even now was bearing down on her.

Had the circumstances been different she might have had a chance to act, but Marya's secretary, Kasahara-san, had reflexes that belied his large frame. Before she could move he pressed something into her back, and with the click of a button Minako's body arched and her mind went blank, the stun gun having done its job.

Unlike Yuuta she hadn't had time to recognise the new, pale girl as the one from all the police photos before Kasahara Kizugi had rendered her unconsciousness.

000

To Be Continued...

000

Please leave a review with any comments and constructive criticism you may have. They are always greatly appreciated, and there is no better reward for a writer than to hear back from the readers.

(c) Nutzoide 2009-2011


	5. Happiness is

World Shaking: Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Sailor Moon or anything that comprises it. This is a non-profit story written solely for my own enjoyment and that of anyone who wishes to read it. The story and original characters are mine. Please don't use them without permission.

000

World Shaking

- A Sailor Moon Fan-Fiction by Nutzoide -

Chapter 5: Happiness is...

When Children Wish to be Heard

Tokyo seemed not to have been the best place to live over the last few weeks. No matter how the 'Parents Club' might have loved the capital that they lived in - and it wasn't all that much in a few cases - there was a worrying consensus among them that Tokyo had taken a turn for the worse in recent times.

Tsukino Genji was convinced it was an overstatement, but even he - who possessed a rare, joyous optimism about his job, his neighbourhood and the public services that saw him from one to the other - had to admit that the last few weeks of Tokyo news reports had been worrying.

While Aino Yokozuki and Mizuno Katsura agreed that this worrying trend had been going for years in one way or another, it was the last seven months that had finally shaken Genji's nerves. Until that point, no matter how destructive or dangerous any event might have been, the powers that protected Japan had emerged triumphant. Gang crime had been brought to an all time low, the police had been visible and efficient, and the Sailor Senshi had not only been proved to exist but had saved Tokyo from all manner of unnatural threats.

Then, seven months ago, half of the Sailor Senshi had been struck down by a single enemy, and Japan's confidence had been shattered. And just to bring it closer to home, almost all of Usagi's closest friends had been caught in the crossfire. No-one had known that the Senshi would survive and re-appear, and with them the lost women who had vanished alongside them. It had been a terrible blow to all of Japan, but every one of the other parents sitting with him in the Hikawa Shrine's living quarters had lost someone at that time. Genji and his wife had been distraught on behalf of their daughter, but they had been the lucky ones.

But, while both the Sailor Senshi and their children had returned safe and sound, Genji could see that while the national mood had been lifted again, it had only signalled the start of a subtle downward spiralling of Tokyo's fortunes.

With the Senshi missing tourism had been hit badly in the city as people feared that those guardians who remained would not be strong enough to deal with any second battle. Tokyoites had come to recognise that the Senshi's battles came in sequence, and everyone had feared the second fight to come. That fight had never materialised, but the damage had been done.

Similarly, individual petty crime had risen in their absence, and the police had been stretched to bring it back under control even after the Senshi had returned. Then they had barely been given time to celebrate before more demons came to prey on the city.

Now a second attack from such creatures had been put down just outside the city limits, and at a time when gang crime seemed to be back on the rise. On the back of Mita Lili's baffling disappearance from a crowded amusement park a prominent businessman, one Mochizuki Ryuuji, had vanished while on the Tokyo subway system. The police knew he had used his card enter the subway station by his workplace, but it had not been used since. The man had apparently disappeared while underground, and one again no body or suicide note had been found. The two disappearances had nothing in common at all beyond their baffling nature, but that seemed to be enough for the press to link them.

Genji didn't think it sounded that implausible that the two might be connected either. No-one else had any ideas.

"For all we know they might be behind the jewellery store break-in as well," he guessed. "If they can spirit away two people as easily as that they are probably organised enough to need financing."

"Oh, honestly Gen-chan," his wife said with a sigh, putting her teacup back on the table. "You might as well say they were summoning the demons that have been popping up recently as well. Even Aino-san wouldn't go that far, right Aino-san?"

Yokozuki didn't seem all that amused, but he nodded. "Yes. That would be unlikely. But if there is a 'they', then they must have a motive. Beyond drawing people to them, what do they have to gain? They haven't asked for a ransom, or reward."

Genji just shrugged. "I don't know. You're the conspiracy expert, Yokozuki-san."

The pair were interrupted by Katsura, who surprised Genji with an authoritative look that reminded him of his dreaded mother-in-law.

"Please, both of you. You have no proof of any of this, and you will just work us all up for no good reason. I am as worried for my daughter as you are for yours, but there is no 'conspiracy' here. By your logic we are just as likely to be victims as our children our!"

"True enough," Yokozuki admitted. "But I will be glad when Minako's stage run is over and she won't have to travel home at night."

Grandpa Hino seemed wholly undisturbed by the conversation. "It isn't Minako I would be worried about," he chuckled. "Those poor yakuza."

Genji forced himself to keep a straight face while Yokozuki and Kikon glared at him. "Just what are you saying about our daughter, Hino-san?"

000

Makoto had never been told not to make a cake before.

There was plenty she could be doing before her friends arrived, of course. The amount of dusting that she *hadn't* done this week was shocking, and she had been neglecting to put away or bin her mail for a while. None of them were bills this time, so they did not dampen her high spirits in the least, but sorting that lot out kept her mind off cake mix and icing for a good few minutes.

Getting her apartment in order also made her feel a little less guilty about requesting the day off work. Matsubashi at the noodle shop had already allowed her to recoup her time in Seiji as holiday, so she had none of that left to use, but her laid back boss had let her take the day off all the same. She could afford to lose one day's pay when almost everyone would be able to do the same that day.

Her flat was always cramped when she did manage to host for everyone else, but she possessed a certain vanity in making sure that when those times came her home was as ready as possible to receive her guests. There was the usual cleaning, but furniture had to be rearranged to get so many people into the small living room and her pride had her pushing the settee and chairs around for twenty minutes before she was satisfied.

After that she had to make *herself* presentable with a quick shower - She couldn't greet her guests wearing her dusty cleaning overalls - but before that she put the two trays of biscuits she had prepared the night before into the oven.

Hey, they weren't cake, so they didn't count. Right? She just didn't feel comfortable having people over without the smell of baking emanating from the kitchen.

She had invited everyone to arrive at whatever time they wished, since so many of them had also been available during the day. Rei would be at the shrine all morning, but beyond saying they would be free for lunch the others had mentioned little in the way of plans beforehand, or ETAs. As such Makoto had expected to have the morning mostly to herself to tidy and prepare, but the invasion descended almost as soon as she had finished in the shower.

Makoto answered the door with her hair still in a towel, and stepped back as she was greeted not by one or two, but five smiling faces. In fact Usagi's beaming grin was almost electric as she thrust a large white box in Makoto's direction, wrapped in a pink ribbon. "Happy Birthday Mako-chan! Cake! I made it!"

Ami, Haruka, Michiru and Mamoru all echoed Usagi's premature birthday celebrations, and rather than end up buried in boxes and bottles Makoto ushered the motley troop inside before the neighbours came to join in. Not that she would have minded, but her apartment would be cramped enough as it was.

"I hope you don't mind that we both brought bottles," Mamoru apologised as they filled her living room table with comestibles. "It seems Haruka-san and I have something in common after all."

Haruka also looked somewhat embarrassed by it, in a grumpy way. "I knew I should have brought a table wine."

Makoto just laughed, glad to have the company so early. "It's fine. I'm sure they won't last past today with everyone here." Then she noted the overlarge shirt that Haruka wore. "Though you are off the booze now, aren't you?"

Haruka remained grumpy in a way that Makoto thought made her look strangely cute for such a suave tomboy. "Yes, I'm not drinking, and I have had the lecture already thanks. Twice, in fact. It doesn't mean I can't bring wine."

Both Usagi and Ami had the decency to blush and find something to fuss over on the table, while Michiru just giggled and Haruka plopped down into the comfortable chair that now sat by the table instead of the back window.

Makoto was hard put to bite her tongue about how fantastic she thought Haruka looked. This was the first time she had come and socialised with everyone for almost a month, and since then she had gone from her normal trim self to being noticeably pregnant now. The small softball bump that she had hated (Ami had mentioned something of that to her when they had last got together) was now a much more 'normal' outward curve that became evident as soon as she sat down. In fact, Makoto suspected that she had put on a fair bit of weight apart from her bump, as it had seemed to have softened her jaw line as well as whatever else the baggy shirt and trousers hid.

Ami had given her strict instruction not to mention Haruka's appearance though. It was still a sensitive point apparently.

Instead Makoto just smiled to herself and let Haruka collapse in the chair. "So, what's in the box?"

She moved to take off the lid, but her hands were caught by Usagi.

"Naughty Mako-chan. It's not time for cake yet!"

"Not time for cake? Who are you and what have you done with my Usagi-chan?"

Usagi was not moved though. "I want to show it off to *everyone*! And you always made me wait for cake in our study group! Aha, you see? I have my revenge!"

Michiru had settled herself on one of the cushions around the table and shook her head. "She skipped school and descended on my kitchen at half past eight this morning for it as well. I didn't even think she knew such a time of day existed."

"But," she added, before Usagi had time to protest, "we have plenty of provisions, as well as lunch. You are officially off the clock, Makoto-chan."

Makoto thought about the biscuits she had in the oven already, and wondered just how much trouble she would be in when she went to fetch them now. And just as she did so, the kitchen timer started to bleat.

Ami burst in a fit of giggles as suddenly all eyes were focused on a very sheepish looking Makoto. Honestly, the timing couldn't have been worse.

"Well," she said, trying to laugh it off, "I had to prepare something, didn't I? And I thought you said you had the day of, Usagi-chan! You're skipping your lectures?"

Usagi gave Makoto a firm look and nodded. "Priorities, Mako-chan. Now sit down."

Makoto, not knowing how else to react, did so.

"Relax."

Makoto blinked. Twice.

"And I'll get the kitchen," Usagi finished, leaping to her feet and hurtling into the kitchen before Makoto could get a word out.

"Don't worry," Mamoru reassured her from opposite the table. "We have all made her promise to be on her best behaviour."

That helped, but it didn't completely remove the doubt that nagged in the back of her mind. "Yes, but will that save my kitchen?"

"She's not a threat any more, Makoto-chan," Michiru replied. "I haven't had to supervise her for a little while now."

However, Michiru's reassurance was cut down when Usagi screamed, and she, Makoto and Mamoru all bolted for the kitchen. Usagi stood panting against the counter top while Setsuna stood at the open oven, a mitt and a tray of biscuits in each hand, looking surprised at having caused such a scene.

"I thought I would let myself in, since they were ready."

"Setsuna-san, you almost scared the *life* out of me! Really! Is my hair turning white?"

Haruka and Ami came up at the rear of the group, and Haruka sighed. "So, you never appear on your own birthdays, but you can turn up at Mako-chan's party unannounced?"

"I do have an invitation, Haruka-kun. Now, where do you keep your cooling trays Makoto-chan, or shall I bring them straight through?"

000

Rei arrived just in time for lunch, as she had said she would, but even before she had got the chance to wish her girlfriend a happy birthday her mothering instinct had taken over and her foot had wedged itself firmly in her mouth.

"Haruka-san your tummy! That's so great!"

Makoto, Michiru, Ami and Mamoru all found their palms reaching their foreheads in exasperation, while Usagi instantly nodded, pulling Rei down to where she had Makoto trapped. "I know, doesn't she look great? But she won't let me touch it, stingy!"

For her part Haruka just glared from the comfortable chair she had claimed, and rearranged her shirt so that it clung to her stomach less obviously. "Thank you for noticing girls. When I'm finally overwhelmed by the urge to be groped about the midsection I'll know who to come to."

"Now now, Haruka, be nice," Michiru chided gently from Haruka's side of the table. "It's a compliment."

Haruka rolled her eyes and the grumpy glare vanished. "I know. I know. Being bloated is such a wonderful thing, don't mind me, dear."

At the table Rei blushed and looked down at the plate that Setsuna offered her, after having let her in in Makoto's place. "Sorry Mako. I know you said, but I... forgot. Umm, happy birthday."

She picked a small wrapped box out of her purse and passed it across, and Usagi's eyes tracked it every inch of the way. "Ooooh, presents. Mamo-chan, where did we put ours?"

Next to her Mamoru sipped on his glass of lunchtime wine and completely failed to get them. "Weren't you going to wait until Mina-chan got here, Usa-ko? I think Rei-chan is allowed priority in this case."

Usagi 'umm'ed for a moment before deciding she agreed with him, and with that she went back to peering across at the box. "Well, go on Mako-chan. Open it!"

"Well, if you insist."

The necklace inside was simple and delicate - and small, closer to a choker than a hanging necklace - but Rei had thought it would look nicer around Makoto's neck than any of the sales girls she had bought it from. And when Makoto put it on she was proved right. It may have been modest, but it was a very elegant accessory.

"I know it's not like the one we saw in Osa-P, but I thought you'd like it."

The others seemed to think so too, and Rei was glad to see Makoto smile under all the attention.

"Thanks, Rei."

And then, bold as brass, Makoto leaned over and kissed her. In front of their friends! True, she was bright red when it was done, but then so was Rei after that! Progress!

From her chair Haruka took a glass and the bottle of wine they had opened for the meal. Since she wasn't allowed to drink she had taken it upon herself to see that everyone else was well watered. "Ami, could you pass that to Rei-chan? She doesn't have a glass in front of her."

"And Minako-chan did say she would be late," Ami said, noting that everyone else was present. "Don't you think you've made Mako-chan wait long enough, Usagi-chan?"

She looked towards the cake box, and Usagi leapt to attention. "Right!"

With amazing care and skill from someone with her lacklustre reflexes Usagi managed to extricate the two layer chocolate cake from the box. It was not fancy, at least by Makoto's standards, Rei thought, but as one of Usagi's confections it looked very tasty. And, impressively, twenty one candles sat clustered on top in kanji that spelt out the same number.

"Mamo-chan, can you help me light them?" She then turned to Makoto with a cheeky grin. "I bet you can't blow them all out together."

While she was right Makoto gave it a good try, and Rei was impressed to discover that the cake was every bit as appetising as it looked. Michiru was evidently a very good teacher.

000

It was well into the afternoon when Minako arrived. She looked like death, but then the first run of her play was closing that week, and the months of late evening performances had been taking their toll for a while now. She'd probably slept until midday at least, and happily accepted a plate of left over lunch for her breakfast.

"Thanks, Mako-chan," she said, as energetic as she could manage. "Sorry I couldn't come earlier, but Happy Birthday!"

"Thanks Mina-chan. I'm glad you could come."

"Hee hee, me too! And cake for breakfast as well! Lucky!"

000

Haruka had felt guilty enough to apologise for her mood before she had left Makoto's place that day. She had every right to be irritable, but then she also realised that she might not have attracted quite as much attention if she'd had her head on straight and spent a bit more time with the other girls over the last month. They *were* girls after all, and it was their prerogative to get excited.

To be fair, Haruka was finally feeling a little of that excitement herself. She had been telling the truth when she'd admitted that she had wanted children to Makoto, and she was now reclaiming some of that early anticipation. The whole thing had just been thrust upon her so suddenly, and she had not been the least bit prepared for the rollercoaster that had followed, both physical and emotional.

Now, though, she seemed to have found a stable middle ground. She couldn't hide herself any more, and that had forced her to accept that her self image would have to change.

And it wasn't that bad. True, the doting had long worn thin already, but it gave her licence to give her overactive emotions a longer leash, and while she felt little desire to flirt right now the baby had a comparable effect on the girls' composures. As long as she was willing to put up with the fawning that followed, that is.

It may also have had something to do with being able to feel it move, as well. She had been disappointed to realise no-one else would be able to yet, but every now and then she would feel a little fluttering from inside her abdomen. It was something she could at last recognise as her baby and not just something inert and foreign that was happening to her, and it made up for the stress and panic that the kid had put her through already.

Mostly, anyway.

Haruka had a second reason to be taciturn that day though. Now, in the pocket of her winter jacket, she held the business card that Ami had given her a fortnight before.

At first Haruka had been furious that Ami had confronted the reporter without her knowledge, but mostly because it had brought up a problem that she had already dismissed as a non-issue. If Haruka's adopted sister was that intent on tracking her down then it would happen one way or the other, and if it turned bad - as Haruka expected it to - then it would only get worse if the media got involved.

Better to have the meeting then, and decide afterwards if getting Karasuro-san and his magazine involved was either wise or worthwhile. Haruka's e-mail to the girl said that she would see her by at the fountain in Juuban park on December 7th - two days after Makoto's birthday - and that they should meet without bringing anyone else along. While she would have liked to take Michiru or Ami for moral support she didn't want them getting tied up in her family issues, and she still did not know what this sister of hers intended to get out of the meeting.

Tenoh Maki had replied the same day with a condition of her own. Haruka was not to tell their parents that they had met. Maki would be skipping school to come to Juuban earlier than suggested, and she gave the impression that their parents didn't want her asking about Haruka in the first place.

But maybe wanting to meet Haruka against their parents' wishes was a good sign.

000

Sitting by the side of the fountain, her hair in a yellow ribbon as she had said it would be, Tenoh Maki looked much as Haruka had expected. When Haruka had first learned she had an adopted sister, three years ago, she could only think that her parents would have chosen a girl as different from Haruka as they could. A traditional Japanese girl, who would not grow up to make the same gamut of 'mistakes' Haruka had.

Maki did look exactly like the traditional Japanese girl as depicted in so many television dramas. Sixteen or seventeen years old probably, with straight black hair that fell down her back to a modest length, and neither too tall or too short. Her plain, heavy coat might have been worn by any typical high schooler, and she wore a pleated skirt even though she was not going to school and the wind had turned cold over the last few weeks. Her one concession to individuality was the yellow ribbon, which captured a lock of hair that fell past her right temple rather than tying it all back.

She did at least look confident and composed, Haruka thought as she approached to make herself known. And the girl was fairly pretty, in a serious sort of way. The type of girl that Haruka would have liked to fluster, not that she could manage it these days.

Maki saw her before Haruka got to the fountain, and the girl leapt to her feet and gave a short bow before introducing herself. "Tenoh-san, I am pleased to meet you, at last. I am Tenoh Maki."

At least she didn't ask to call me 'Onee-sama', Haruka thought, but she kept her face blank. That had been a very formal greeting.

"Tenoh-san," Haruka echoed in a rather cold greeting of her own. "What can I do for you?"

As expected Maki's eyes darted to Haruka's stomach, barely showing beneath her coat, before she looked her in the eyes. "Umm, should we... take a seat?"

That annoyed Haruka slightly, but at least the girl's formality slipped to reveal a real, slightly nervous person underneath. Haruka did have the upper hand in composure after all, and she wanted to keep it that way. "Let's."

However, rather than going to a bench Haruka sat on the edge of the fountain, and nodded for Maki to do the same.

"I've wanted to meet you for a while," Maki finally said when it was clear Haruka wasn't going to be the one to start, and she looked a little awkward behind her serious, honest expression. "I mean, you're a celebrity, and your... girlfriend... is even more famous. I suppose you get this a lot."

"Not from people I'm related to," Haruka replied, testing the waters.

Maki nodded and looked away. "No, I guess not. I hope I'm not intruding, but there seems to be so much going on in your life now, and I was afraid that if I didn't try to introduce myself now then I would never get the chance."

Hmm, that was interesting. Haruka pulled Karasuro Jin's business card out of her pocket and handed it over. Maki started to accept it thinking it was Haruka's until she noticed the notes scrawled on it.

"To be blunt," Haruka said, "I think you *have* been intruding, but that might not necessarily be your fault."

Maki accepted the criticism without a flinch. "... I read his magazine. It's the only way I can find out who my sister is. I was hoping he might help me get in contact with you. That's how I got your address, but he never called again about seeing you."

That softened Haruka's shell a little. If the girl had an agenda then she was a very good actor. "Well it worked, though not in the way he hoped." She tried to put a twinkle in her eye, to lighten the mood. "So, am I everything you'd hoped for?"

Maki blinked, confused, before smiling. That was better. "I don't know what I hoped for. I used to think people were just teasing me about us having the same surname. Then I found out you really *are* my sister. Sort of, I mean. But Mum and Dad never used to talk about you, until after I found out."

Naturally. "That sounds about right."

"Is that why you left?"

Haruka nodded. "They didn't approve. And I didn't care."

Maki sighed as if she'd guessed as much already. "I used to wonder why you'd give up on rich parents like them. But I suppose it was obvious. They don't hate you though. Nowadays, they do talk about you. They were really upset when you got caught up in the Sailor Senshi disappearance."

Haruka had to admit, she was a little surprised. "Were they now?"

Maki nodded. "And it's hard living up to you, you know. I'm not musical, or artistic, and I struggle at maths. The way they tell it, you'd have been even more successful that you are if you just been... uh, more conventional. As if that matters."

She giggled, breaking the serious image and revealing the schoolgirl underneath. "They say that even after paying for my karate and judo classes."

Okay, now *that* surprised Haruka. "You practice martial arts?"

Maki nodded. "That's what I asked for, when they said they'd pay for lessons outside school. I, uh, was kind of a troublemaker when I was a kid. Hence, you know, adoption. Our parents have done a good job since then, I think."

So maybe skipping school wasn't quite so daring for her after all. Or maybe Haruka was jumping to conclusions.

"... Maybe they have." She glanced over to one of the benches, where another trio of school girls sat gossiping.

Maki blushed, not that Haruka had been trying, but she had evidently noticed Haruka looking at the other three girls. "I... do have a confession to make, Haruka-san. I didn't come alone."

"Your gang?" Haruka asked with a smirk.

"I am not a delinquent! I might have started taking lessons for the wrong reasons, but I want to be a self defence instructor. I was ten years old!"

"And them?"

"Yes, I sort of brought them with me. Himeko wants to be a musician, and wanted me to ask if maybe she could do work experience week with you. And maybe you could have your picture taken with us?"

Oh boy.

"And maybe we could talk, sometimes. I think, it might be nice to be your sister. If it's not a hassle to you."

"Maybe so," Haruka admitted. Though it sounded like she had a few oddities about her, such as looking completely out of place in a karate class, Maki seemed to be a nice enough girl. "Though that would mean having a niece who is almost as old as you are, near enough."

Maki stared at her for a moment, trying to work that out. "Then I'm an aunt *already*! Oh, you mean Hotaru-chan. I hadn't thought of it like that."

"And you'll be one twice over soon enough." Haruka added mischievously. "Now, maybe you'd like to introduce me to your gang?"

"We're not a gang!"

000

By the following week Usagi had been counting down the days until she would get her own gang back for exactly a month. Her group weren't schoolgirl gangsters, but in the past they had certainly inspired the same fear among the local gaming and ice cream emporiums, and getting them all together had been murder ever since Minako had starting rehearsing for her play.

Well, now that play had officially come to a close for the winter, and Minako would be free for at least four whole weeks. Maybe longer depending on what her director had in store for her. True, Ami wasn't with them for their first shopping trip together again, but then she had a good excuse.

Haruka was getting another ultrasound today. Usagi couldn't help but sigh out of broody whimsy. If only Haruka knew how lucky she was. But enough of that. She and her friends were there to have fun too, damn it, and that's exactly what they would do

Or they would do as soon as Minako actually turned up.

"Really, she's worse than *you* are these days," Rei said as she sat by the exact same fountain where Haruka had met Maki. What Usagi would have given to see that!

Except that, "Rei-chan!"

"Huh? What?"

"I am not that bad and you know it!"

Usagi glared as Rei leaned back and shot her an evil smile. "I know enough to know that you *are* that bad, dumpling head."

But these day Usagi had a weapon of her own, and she hopped off the fountain wall to sit by Makoto instead, pouting mercilessly.

"Mako-chaaaan, Rei-chan's being mean to me."

Makoto wasn't the type to take sides amongst her friends, and even now all the tall girl could do was try to smile and mollify the pair of them without her girlfriend roasting her with that glare she now sported. "Now, now, Usagi-chan. I'm sure she doesn't mean anything by it, right Rei-chan?"

And there was a certain earnest look in Makoto's eyes that could dampen even Rei's fiery temperament.

Victory to Usagi!

"Hey, you know it's true," was Rei's limp retort, but the argument was over and Rei accepted defeat with a minimum of grouchiness. "Maybe we should wait for her inside the Crown or something. It's cold out here."

However, they hadn't come to a consensus before Minako had careened into the park square on her scooter and pulled up in front of them in a cloud of petrol fumes. Needless to say, there wasn't a soul in the park who wasn't staring at them after that.

"Whew, sorry I'm late guys," Minako said as she pulled off her helmet and dumped it in the luggage box on the back of the pink scoter. "I am *so* tired. And is it me or is it *really* bright out?"

"Not really," Usagi said, shrugging. "Maybe you've been playing a vampire for too long and you're going day blind."

"Never mind that," Rei interrupted. "Are you even allowed to ride a scooter in the park?"

Minako evidently hadn't thought of that. "Umm, probably not, actually. Should we go before I get arrested?"

With surprising strength she hauled Makoto to her feet and sat her on the back of the scooter. "Time to rescue your damsel in distress, Rei-chan."

And then she promptly failed to get the scooter turning over again.

"Oh my, whatever will I do?" Amused sarcasm, dripped from Makoto's voice, while Rei looked distinctly non-plussed.

"And why don't I get to be the damsel?"

"Hey, I walked through fire for you. I think it's my turn to be rescued."

Rei paused for a moment before nodding, getting to her feet, and helping Makoto off Minako's not so stalwart vehicle. "Damsel get. Gain 300 XP and one Heart." And with that she gave Makoto a kiss.

"Drat, foiled again." Minako gave the scooter's pedal another kick, but Makoto just put a hand on the handlebars to stop her. "Maybe we should walk it out."

Usagi smiled broadly. Her friends were so much fun! Even when they were being annoyingly cute and in love. "Oh, if only Mamo-chan were here."

000

Six shopping bags later, three of which were Makoto's, she, Rei, Usagi and Minako sat in the Crown's ice cream parlour, each with a glass of their chosen confection in front of them.

"And what happened to you being broke, Mako-chan?" Usagi asked, having paid great attention to the growing collection of bags that now sat at Makoto's side.

"What? They weren't expensive or anything," Makoto justified. "And I need a new pullover. I've patched my old one four times already!"

"Besides," said Rei, "she has some very kind and generous friends, don't you Mako."

Makoto decided that it was time to be more modest, and quickly shut her mouth.

However, Usagi and Minako had taken the bait. "Huh? What do you mean?"

"Ami-chan, Michiru-san and Haruka-san gave her a joint present for her birthday, remember?" Rei said. "And Ami-chan's Mum sent a card as well."

"They gave you money?" Usagi asked.

Against her better judgement Makoto nodded under the weight of blonde gazes that fell upon her. "Yeah. They did."

"Quite a lot of money too," Rei said seriously, though it was clear even to Makoto that she was bragging just a bit.

"Rei-chan!"

"Hey, it's true. It was a good present. Now you can actually shop on your shopping trips."

It was a great present, but Makoto had already accepted more financial support that she felt comfortable with, so this had been more than a little excessive. She would have to do something really special when it came to their birthdays.

However, for the moment she would settle for changing the topic of conversation. "Well anyway, Usagi-chan, you went to see Koan-san, right? Are they doing okay now?"

"Hmm? Yeah, they are. Well, Tyra-chan and Are-chan are still kind of down, but who can blame them? Petz-san though, Koan-san said that she's really picked up. She wasn't even there when I went. She's actually going out a *lot* now."

That was a turnaround. "Wow. Maybe she's found a man after all."

But Usagi shook her head. "Koan-san didn't think so. She's looked more... driven than that, apparently."

"You mean, maybe she's been practicing with her 'you know what'." Minako twitched her finger over the table, but the others knew what she meant: Black Lightning magic.

It was a reasonable guess, but Usagi couldn't say. "Maybe, but Koan-san didn't know either. She actually seemed kind of worried, but she was glad that Petz-san is getting out of the flat now, at least."

Rei looked to Minako over the table. "I guess you had no luck at the park."

Minako had obviously not been looking forward to that question, and they had made a point not to ask at Makoto's party. "No. I'm... I'm really sorry, guys. I just... couldn't find anything."

Makoto bent down over the table to catch her eyes again. It was obviously troubling Minako a lot more than she was letting on, but then with the play over she no longer had any good reason to spend so much time at the park. If there was anything there, she had missed her chance to find it, at least for now. But it wasn't like they *knew* there was anything to find in the first place. It had been worth a try. "Hey, Mina-chan, don't worry about it. Maybe we were wrong. We'll find out soon enough."

While it didn't bring back their old Minako she did seem thankful for the support. "Yeah. Maybe... maybe we will. Thanks Mako-chan."

000

Across town, thoughts of youma and thwarting potential evil plots where the furthest things from Haruka's mind. After all, being pregnant was uncomfortable enough without the doctors inventing new ways to make it even more so. Lying in a small hospital room with her pants pulled down as low as they could go while still preserving her modesty was pushing it, but the cold jelly the nurse squeezed onto her stomach was, in her mind, just adding injury to insult.

"You can't do this without the goo?" she complained as the nurse used the end of her ultrasound instrument to spread the jelly over her skin.

The nurse took it in her stride though, and smiled. "Call it tradition."

By her side Michiru and Ami both smiled at her awkwardness, so Haruka decided that it was about time to bite her lip and let the nurse do her job. For all her complaining Haruka did care how her baby was doing, and if nothing else today would settle the boy/girl issue once and for all.

"Though really," the nurse added, "I know Mizuno-san is also on record as one of your doctors, but you should have scheduled this appointment sooner. It is quite irregular to have a student doctor monitoring a baby like this."

Though only a student, Ami did look the picture of professionalism. She had her own doctor's coat and everything. Haruka would have brushed it off, but Michiru spoke up for her. "We have every faith in both yourselves and Ami-sensei. And Ami-sensei's studies will be proved quite important, I'm sure."

That seemed to put the nurse in her place somewhat, and Haruka had to grin at how quickly Ami tried to look modest after that.

But that wasn't what any of them were there for. Haruka would have been happy just to have Ami keep performing her checkups, if not for the fact that, as the nurse said, they were already overdue for another official visit. And as advanced as Ami's machine was, it could only present scanning data, not ultrasound images. Probably.

"There we are," the nurse said, as she finally turned the monitor around so that they could see, having found a picture.

Ami had wanted to get them a room that had the hospital's one 3D ultrasound machine, but even on the grainy black and white image Haruka was struck by how clearly she could see her child. Two little arms rested under its chin, while one hand - they couldn't tell which - seemed to be grasping up by the side of its face. The fact that she could see that much was enough for Haruka to lapse into silence, but as that little hand flexed she could count each of its stubby little fingers.

"And you wanted to know the baby's sex?"

Haruka nodded, but her eyes didn't lave the screen. She just couldn't think of anything witty to say. "Yes please. Uh, if you don't mind?"

That question went to Michiru, and more subtly to Ami as well, but neither of them had any objections.

"No, I'd like to know," Michiru replied, smiling from ear to ear as she too watched the little arms twitch on the screen. "It will give me an excuse to finally throw you a baby shower."

Haruka was less than thrilled about the idea of pregnancy parties, but right then it actually seemed like it might be a nice idea. Up until that point she hadn't really wanted to share her pleasure at having a child, but now...

Usagi would be over the moon. So to speak.

"Okay then. We move around to... here..."

Haruka couldn't keep track of what she was seeing as the nurse moved the scanner across her stomach. In profile it had been easy to see the outline of the baby's body and limbs, but now she was lost, even when the nurse found the right spot.

"... And there she is!" The nurse pointed to a small shape on the image. "A little behind schedule, but she's a girl."

If Haruka had wanted a boy before now, her preference was quickly wiped away as the nurse brought the image back to her daughter's profile. "Beautiful, isn't she?"

"Yeah," Haruka replied, hardly believing she was saying so honestly after all the trauma the girl had put herself through. "She is." It was amazing what a difference seeing her finally made, even after all the little quickening movements she'd felt. Ami and Michiru could feel those now, if faintly, but this was something else entirely.

After that Michiru took Haruka's hand while the nurse went to fetch her a towel. "You're not too disappointed, I hope."

Haruka shook her head, grinning like a fool. "Are you kidding? She's my daughter, whatever she is! I hope she inherits my height though, because I'm teaching her basketball!"

000

Katsura thought that it was probably polite to give the girls some time to themselves when the baby shower rolled around that Sunday. She knew all the girls to some degree or another, but it was obvious that hers was not so much a social invite, but one of obligation. None of Haruka's own family would be there - the sad truth was that they were either not welcome or still too much of an unknown quantity to be considered friends, let alone close family. Michiru had no family to invite, and so that left Katsura as the sole 'grandparent' in attendance.

She could only presume that her ex-husband had not replied to whatever letters Ami might have sent, if she still wrote any these days. How such a wonderful man could still be so arrogant she never had managed to understand.

So, while the child would be Katsura's granddaughter - and didn't that thought weaken her legs! - the party seemed intended more for friends than family. She could at least leave her daughter and their friends to have some of their fun before she came along to subdue the event.

It was easy for her to make the excuse that she worked late, and so would not arrive until mid-afternoon. It was true enough most of the time, but Ami would know better than to think it could keep her from an earlier appointment. When she came to stand on the doorstep she hoped that it had been the right thing to do.

And she never failed to be taken aback when Michiru answered the door to her daughter's house. Or rather, the household Ami had chosen to live in. It was distinctly unsettling.

"Mizuno-san," Michiru welcomed wearing a prize-winning smile. "Please, do come in. We have been waiting for you."

Katsura bowed gently before stepping inside and slipping off her shoes. "Thank you. I hope I haven't been holding anything up."

"Oh no," Michiru reassured, "not at all. Everyone is in the lounge, so please come in and make yourself at home. I hope you can forgive them, but they are all quite excitable still."

The young woman's manners were exemplary, as always, and there was never any of the accusation or resentment in her manner or her words that Katsura always unconsciously expected. She knew intellectually that Ami, Haruka and Michiru had come to some sort of arrangement, but on an emotional level she still found it hard to accept.

But Michiru acted as the perfect hostess and led her through to the open kitchen come living space. Rather than rejoining the chattering throng on the settees she slipped behind the kitchen worktops that separated the two rooms, and offered Katsura a drink.

"Coffee, please," Katsura replied, noting the fuss that was being made with what she presumed were baby gifts Haruka had already been given. "I think I may need it!"

Michiru chuckled and put the pot on. "Okay, I'll bring it through for you."

Katsura might have liked just to try and talk in the kitchen for a moment, but then she supposed this was neither the time nor the place to try and understand her daughter's celebrity partner's lover.

Just thinking of the grammar and etiquette required there made her head hurt, so she went to join the giggling throng as she was bid.

"Mizuno-sensei!" Makoto greeted, waving a pair of red rattles in greeting. Yes, the girls were having just as much fun as expected. Haruka sat on the settee, overwhelmed as Makoto and Minako flanked her with toys, baby socks and the like in their hands, and Rei sat at their feet evidently having been given permission to try and feel the baby move at last.

On noticing her approach Haruka tried to extricate herself from her younger friends, but Katsura stopped her. "Please Haruka-san, don't get up. I'm not sure it would be wise, considering."

She looked at the three girls and all of them decided that she was right, pinning Haruka back to the sofa. "Exactly, Haruka-kun," Minako agreed. "You said baby was moving, and she isn't at all!"

"She's probably asleep," Makoto replied, shaking the rattles over Haruka's belly again in a half hearted attempt to wake the unborn child up.

Rei's take on it was far simpler, "She's just stubborn, like you, Haruka-san. She knows we're waiting, so she's teasing us."

Haruka sat herself up straight again after being hauled back onto the settee. "Come on girls, at least make room for her to sit down."

Minako did scoot over to the arm of the sofa, but Katsura politely declined. "That's alright, Haruka-san. I should say hello to my daughter before I join you. However..."

From under her arm she pulled a plainly wrapped package, and offered it to her. "I understand you bring gifts to this sort of party. Congratulations, Haruka-san."

Haruka at the green parcel for a moment before accepting it with as much dignity as the other girls would allow her. "Thank you, Mizuno-sensei."

All three girls sat on tenterhook as Haruka unwrapped the present, and out came two pink baby suits.

"Aww, they're adorable!" Minako fawned, instantly taking one and laying it out over Haruka's stomach. "There we go!"

"I am sure you have been given some already," Katsura said, "and I doubt they are quite your colour, but believe me, you cannot have enough of them."

It was difficult to tell what Haruka thought, partially because Minako and now Rei were playing around with them on her belly, but she nodded in acceptance all the same. "Thank you."

"Well, I'll leave you in their capable hands for a moment," Katsura said with a smile as she excused herself.

Ami, Usagi and Hotaru were over by one of the other chairs. Not in it since it was filled with opened wrapping paper (and another ball came sailing over just then, courtesy of Makoto) but the three of them sat on the floor, chatting more sedately. That was quite unlike Usagi in Katsura's experience, but then maybe she had run out of steam for the moment.

Hotaru she didn't know beyond a few passing greetings and Ami's moving day, but she seemed like a nice, well mannered girl. Much more in Ami and Michiru's vein than Usagi or Haruka's.

"Hello Ami," she greeted, and her daughter got to her feet to share a hug with her. The other two rose as well.

"Hello Mother, I'm glad you could come along."

"As long as you don't mind and old woman crashing the party," Katura said, mocking gently. "You are keeping well?"

"Yes, just as I was last time. Haruka and Michiru-san are still forcing me to eat properly as well."

"Just like you've been forcing her to eat," Hotaru said with an innocent giggle. "It's nice to see you again, Mizuno-sensei."

"You as well, Hotaru-chan. And it is always a pleasure to see Usagi-chan."

Usagi grinned and bowed slightly, feigning modesty as she enjoyed the compliment.

And then, quite out of the blue, Hotaru asked a question.

"Um, Mizuno-sensei, should I call you Auntie, or Grandma? Ami-papa just avoided the question this morning."

If she hadn't known it was anatomically impossible Katsura would have worried that her eyes had literally fallen out of her head. And there were her daughter and Usagi, giggling like schoolgirls again, and Hotaru wanting to join them if only she knew she hadn't offended 'Ami-papa's' mother.

Oh goodness, what was she to think of this development?

And bang on time Michiru appeared with a cup of coffee. "Here, Mizuno-sensei. Perhaps you would like this now?"

"Yes, thank you Michiru-san." She took a sip and let out a sigh. "Umm, I think perhaps 'Auntie', Hotaru-chan. As excited as I am, I think I would like another few months before becoming a grandmother. And in any case, don't you look a little too old to be my granddaughter just yet?"

Hotaru blushed, glad that her mischief had not gone awry. "Heh heh, okay, Auntie Mizuno."

000

Mamoru welcomed his fiancee back home just as he had started preparing the dinner. Only God would have known when to expect her back, but even a mere mortal like Mamoru could anticipate that, fed or not, Usagi would always be willing to partake in whatever meal was on offer.

Tonight it was a rather nice piece of fresh trout they had found the day before, and he had something more traditional in mind for it this time.

However, the fish was left on the counter top when Usagi announced her return home, and Mamoru cleaned his hands before going out to meet her.

"Welcome back, Usa-ko. You had fun?"

Usagi nodded happily before bouncing out of her shoes and over to give him a peck on the cheek. "Yep! Mizuno-sensei and Rei-chan's baby clothes were sooooooo cute!"

Then, without warning, she wrinkled her nose and stepped back to look him over suspiciously. "Heey, I smell something fishy! What have you been up to in here?"

"I was going to start on dinner, but I thought my girlfriend might get offended if I chose an old dead fish over her for company."

He had learned by trial and error that was the right tack to take when she was in this kind of mood, and Usagi gave him a smile that showed she approved of the excuse. It only lasted a moment before disappearing if favour of a more bubbly triumph over their dinner, but he knew that her subtle assessment just then was hardly a rare occurrence, if only you know what to look for.

"Hah! Take that, evil fish-for-the-eating-of! Mamo-chan likes me best!"

"I wouldn't say there was a contest," said Mamoru, heading back to the kitchen. "He's a terrible conversationalist."

Usagi followed him through, her enthusiasm putting the fish out of her mind. "Oh, but the little itty-bitty booties, Mamo-chan! They were so cute." She sighed and hugged him, stopping him getting back to the task at hand. "I want babies too, Mamo-chan."

Of course she did. She had done for a while, though she had been good and resisted the urge to say so. "I know, Usa-ko. But there's plenty of time."

"We could get married, and have a baby, and then Haruka-chan's daughter would have someone to play with!"

"It's a girl then? You know, I think that would suit Haruka-san. People focus on her nonchalant masculine side too much to see the very conscientious young woman that's there too."

"But Haruka-kun is so cool in suit trousers and a shirt!" Then she sighed, calming back down again. "When can we get married, Mamo-chan?"

"There's no rush, Usa-ko. Plenty of time, remember, and I'd like it if your father gave you away willingly. And we'll have a beautiful, precocious, time travelling daughter, and we'll name her after you. It *will* all happen, Usagi."

"I know." She sighed again. "Sometimes I wish Chibi-Usa-chan had listened to Pluto and not come back. I know it saved us, but knowing the future sucks sometimes. It's so long before we have a baby of our own."

And that was the crux of the problem. They already knew that their daughter Chibi-Usa, Tsukino Usagi II, was not due to arrive for a very long time yet. "Just remember," Mamoru reassured her. "Setsuna-san does say that the future is always in flux. And especially so since Ami-chan and everyone took their trip to an alternate world. We only know about the future that would take place had we carried on our set path. Having so many of us taken out of our own time stream caused Pluto no end of worries for our future, remember? And now Haruka-san having a child... We don't know for sure, but if that *wasn't* part of the future that you visited then it is a large change that the time-stream has to absorb."

"So then, Chibi-Usa might not even get born at all!"

Mamoru shook his head and smiled, "I don't think that's likely. We have already met her. If I understand it correctly, the future is already committed to her being born, and coming back to visit us. That's the problem with paradoxes, apparently. The future changes based on what happens in the present - or the past, in her case - but events of pre-destiny, like time travel, become locked into occurring. If something so contrary to the natural event line occurs that it destroys that lock, like if Chibi-Usa-chan was not born, that's when it gets bad. The locked aspect of the timeline is sliced out of the time space continuum and becomes a floating N-time entity in its equivalent point in the timeline, and the rest of that future shifts along the new natural event line from the point that the paradox occurred."

It was only then that he realised he had been going into more time-space theory than Usagi could handle, and quickly put his mind back on track for the sake of his confused fiancee. "Okay, ignore all that. It *will* happen because we've seen it already happen. That's why Pluto monitors the Gate so carefully, especially now. To make sure that our destiny comes to pass properly."

Usagi stared at him, goggle eyed for a moment longer, before taking a deep breath. It was as if she was forcing all the techno-babble out of her system before it could cause any more damage. "Well, as long as it's all right. She might be annoying, and loud, and cheeky, and *so* annoying, but when she *is* actually my daughter I think it will be nice."

Then something occurred to her. "Hey, you've seen Setsuna-san recently? She wasn't at the baby shower, even though it's her house as well. Actually, Luna and Artemis didn't come either."

Mamoru had no idea why any of them might have been absent. "I've spoken to Setsuna-san. She gets the same bus out of town after work sometimes, when I don't take my bike. She likes to know how you are doing, and she talks about Crystal Tokyo and time stream theory sometimes."

Usagi frowned. "Well, she asks me how I'm doing when I cook with Michiru-san. Well, she does sometimes, but more like, 'Hello Usagi-chan, how are you today?' Not about what I think of the future or being Senshi or anything."

Mamoru shrugged. "I think she knows you'd say you were fine. Even if you were worried! Sometimes it's people around you who notice the things you don't think anything of."

Usagi eyed him suspiciously again. "And you're sure you're not having an affair with her."

"Absolutely sure. How else can I become king if I don't marry the queen?"

"Ah! So you only want me for my destiny!"

"Well, you have lovely eyes too. And a very nice mouth. And there is something to be said for a girl who treats her hair well enough to be able to grow it so long."

"Hee, okay. I forgive you." She gave him a quick kiss, and wandered over to the sink. "But don't let it happen again, mister. Now: Fish."

000

At the same time Makoto was back at home and tired out from celebrating with Haruka and Ami all day. Not only that but they had been fed quite well at Haruka's place, so unlike Mamoru and Usagi her mind had not yet turned to food when her phone rang.

Though they had only said goodnight to each other an hour ago Rei was calling her on her mobile, rather than the house phone. She sounded just a bit hard done by.

"Hi, Mako. Sorry about this, but I don't know if I'll be able to go out tomorrow after all. Grandpa went and caught himself a cold, so I'll probably have to be at the shrine until closing instead of school."

With her re-taking her year of school starting from the autumn semester Makoto had much more control over her timetable than her tutors liked. Her coursework study for tomorrow would only have been to continue work on an essay that thanks to her recent diligence was fully researched and nearly complete. That she could do at work in the morning, in between customer orders, giving the two of them a chance to slot in a rare full afternoon & evening date once Rei had finished her own lectures for the day.

But while that had been the plan, Makoto's disappointment was buried under the news of Grandpa Hino's illness. "He's sick? Let me pack a bag and I'll come over to help. I can make soup for him."

"Don't worry Mako, you don't have to. It's just a cold. That's what he gets for bouncing around and giving talks to people outside in this weather! He should start acting like a responsible senior citizen - No you are not responsible *or* respectable Grandpa, and look what it got you!"

That might have been the case, the old man could be very... spirited, for his age, but Makoto liked the old coot a lot, and was determined to help out. Besides, it would give her something worthwhile to do instead of collapsing in front of the TV with her dinner.

"It's not a problem, love. Do you have any chicken in your fridge, or soup stock?"

Rei sighed over the phone. "Uh, we have packet chicken soup. I was going to make that, with noodles."

"That I can work with. I'll pick up a few things extra things on the way and we'll have noodle soup. You just take care of Grandpa."

"Okay, I'll leave it to you. I'll run him a hot bath while we're waiting for you."

That was more like it. Makoto was already thinking about how to get the best out of the packets that Rei would have sitting in her kitchen cupboard. "Great. I'll be there soon."

"And, Makoto? Thanks."

000

It took Minako little more than twenty minutes to reach the boundary of Greater Tokyo from Haruka's house, and then run the length of motorway that took her to The Midnight Garden. She only spent one in every three or four nights at home now, but to her surprise her parents had not questioned her about it once. Of all the times they could have begun to give her the freedom she wanted without question it was now, when she no longer knew if she could be trusted with it.

Her scooter lay unused by the side of her parents' house, and she had not dared to touch her transformation pen in weeks. If Aino Minako could scale a building unaided, outpace a family car on foot, or pass unseen by man or machine while standing in plain sight, she did not want to think what might have become of Sailor Venus.

If Sailor Venus still existed within her at all.

Minako walked through the gates of the Midnight Garden unmolested by the ticket girls or the security guards who should have stopped anyone aiming to sneak in. Past the open green and the dismantled stage she leapt the hedges that stood between her and the House on the Haunted Hill. The staff entrance yielded to the key card that had now taken its place in her purse.

She was late, but any guilt she felt was soothed by the afterglow of the party. She could no more give up her time with her friends than she could fully walk out on her parents, even for this new family. Even the Shadow that sat behind her could hold no sway over her feelings for her loved ones.

Minako didn't actually know if the Shadow watched her, or had a will of its own. She suspected that it might, but more likely it was just a side effect of the power she had been given in exchange for her energy. None of the others seemed to recognise their Shadows as a separate entity from them, but Minako could not dismiss the feeling that there was *something* there.

Her conscience was not satisfied by what had happened to her, and what she had done since, but her heart could not allow her to back out now. Her Marya-sempai needed her, as did her brothers and sisters who shared this new power.

"I'm here," Minako announced, stepping into their chamber under the Haunted House. She did not apologise for her tardiness because she was not sorry, and she did not like to lie to them.

All seven of the others sat on the comfortable leather chairs or lay on the few beds in the corners of the room. This chamber was theirs alone, when any of them wanted seclusion from the outside world. A secret place where they all knew who and what they really were.

Kizugi sat in his usual chair, his face set in impassive disapproval as it always seemed to be. He lay his book on his knee and spoke. "You are late, Minako-san."

"I know. I wanted to stay for the end of the party. It would have been rude to leave early."

Mochizuki Ryuuji, the sharp minded businessman she had helped kidnap, seemed wary. "Your 'Senshi' friends are not interfering, I hope."

"Of course they aren't." Minako was growing tired of having to say as much, and put her bag down with a huff. "I told you, what we're doing doesn't matter to the Senshi. We're all on the same side."

Lili couldn't see the problem. "Then introduce us. I want to know who they are."

That was where Minako's argument always fell down. "No. They won't understand. Not yet. Especially if Pluto threatened Marya-Sempai."

All eyes turned to Marya, who sat at the desk she'd had installed at the back of the room. For her part Marya just got up and stepped over to Minako.

"And you, Minako-chan. You trusted us with the knowledge that you are the mighty Sailor Venus. Do *you* not understand either?"

"... I don't know. It's wrong, Marya-sempai. Even if it's for the best, I don't like how... underhanded we have to be. I lied to my friends today."

"Because they don't agree with the taking of life."

Minako nodded.

"Even if there's no danger to those we might take it from? Even if it can save others in turn? Even when we can give them power - great power - in exchange."

Minako nodded again. "They wouldn't believe me. They don't trust me like they used to. They'll think I've started believing that the end justifies the meanness." She sighed. "Maybe I have."

From the sidelines another young woman with long auburn hair and a serious face spoke up. "You're wrong, Sailor Venus. Sailor Moon knows that everything comes with a price, and so do you. You've paid far more in the past than you did giving up your life energy to be with us."

"Yuuka-san, I don't think I'm Sailor Venus any more."

Takagi Yuuka disagreed. "Then why do you carry around your wand?"

Because if Minako had to use it - if she really had to - then she would try. She had not asked to be drained of her energy, or willingly taken the power of the Shadow in exchange to keep her alive. If the transformation into Sailor Venus did work, would that also exorcise the Shadow? Would she survive if it did, now that her life energy had been taken in its entirety? And with the Shadow's power at their disposal, what reason could she possibly have to try and transform except to fight the other Sailor Senshi?

She only hoped that Pluto's threat against Marya had been premature, because Minako did not know what she would do if it came to that. Yes, Marya was using unpleasant methods to achieve her goals - Lili and Kizugi had even been used as test subjects to ensure that the process worked properly and safely on the rest of them. But they had not all been forced through the process, and those that had - Lili, Yuuta and herself - had come to terms with the necessity of it. They would never have accepted if it had been voluntary, Minako especially. She, like the rest of her friends, would never have understood that it was not something to be feared. Marya had needed the energy more than Minako had. And it hadn't killed her, so it had been a good thing to give up for the sake of others. Hadn't it?

It was no secret that Minako's energy had been the most potent and bountiful by far, and despite the jealousy it had brought out in some of the others her powerful energy had boosted Marya's studies far further than had been expected. It had identified key signatures and natures within each person's contribution, and set Minako's energy aside as an important resource for their work.

And they had also needed strength in their new family members. While Minako had not been granted the greatest gifts the Shadow had to offer - those had been reserved for Lili and Kizugi, who had suffered for the work - her capacity for the Shadow was just as vast as her life energy had been. She had been an agent that they *needed*, and Minako could not abandon them. Not when the Shadow tied them together so closely.

For all their flaws, they were family now.

000

To Be Continued...

000

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(c) Nutzoide 2009-2011


	6. The Show Must Go On

World Shaking: Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Sailor Moon or anything that comprises it. This is a non-profit story written solely for my own enjoyment and that of anyone who wishes to read it. The story and original characters are mine. Please don't use them without permission.

000

World Shaking

- A Sailor Moon Fan-Fiction by Nutzoide -

Chapter 6: The Show Must Go On.

Re-Introducing: Dark Vampire, Aino Minako!

"I know that several of you have had misgivings over what I have asked of you, and for that I am sorry."

Marya's gaze lingered on three of her daughters in particular: Yuuka, Lili, and Minako. They were reasonable girls, and willing, but they had never been eager to lie, steal, or remain hidden in the darkness. Marya did not know whether it was naivety behind their hesitation or sincere moral fibre, but whichever the case their objections were not unwanted. It reminded Marya that they walked along a precarious tightrope, and that she needed to remain honest with herself. She had let her ambition overtake her when Lili had been supplying such good progress in her experiments with the Shard, and she had hurt the girl more than she had intended.

The men had taken to the mission with more ease. Yuuta was a consummate professional on the stage, and his skill was not dulled when off it. His wife was none the wiser to his new role in life, and he balanced his family and his nightly excursions with ease. As long as no-one else was hurt, he would be content.

Ryuuji, the office worker and sporting enthusiast, was even less fussy. He wanted wealth and power within the business that paid his handsome wage, and he was more than happy to accept the same from Marya's Shadow. It was a thrilling game, and he enjoyed it.

Yuuta and Minako's fellow actress, Hikari, held much the same attitude. Tenacity had got her through drama school and over the heads of many others looking to take her roles from her, but Hikari knew she was the more talented. Possessing the Shadow merely confirmed that. She was special, and while the violence made her squeamish she was proud to have been selected as one of Marya's chosen.

And Kizugi was the loyal assistant, as ever. He rarely questioned, and never allowed himself to slip. If anything, Marya would have been happier if he had been more wilful, and less driven by their shared grief. She did not need servants. She needed friends to be her allies.

However, Marya could not let them go on without reassuring those who were *not* so certain of themselves, and of what she sent them out to do. Her objective had not been to gather troops, but a family.

The question for Lili did not seem to be one of moral unease, but of confidence. She had suffered at Marya's hand, and it had made her wary. She needed reasons for their jewellery thefts and the kidnappings to swell their ranks, as if trust was still an issue between them. She had never disobeyed, but being entrusted with the deepest of the Shadows had not been enough to settle her. She required reassurances, proof of their progress, and promises that the darkest of their experiments was over.

Yuuka was easier to understand. She was a young woman who was devoted to their family, her own having fallen apart, but she was a hero, not a villain. There were other, safer, legal ways to do what they did. They should have allied to the Senshi that she respected so highly, and they should be sharing their discoveries with the world. She did not understand how callous and manipulative the law could be, and how heartless the scared common man was. In time she would get what she wanted, but not yet. Not when the police, the military, and the Sailor Senshi would not hesitate to cut them all down.

Lastly there was Minako. Sailor Venus. How could *she* not have misgivings? Marya would have to make sure that her faith in their family was not misplaced.

"Thanks to your efforts we have all the materials we need. And our park's lights have drawn all the ambient energy we need. There will be no more theft, and no more break-ins."

"Just two more people then." Ryuuji might have been finishing her shopping list for her, and Marya saw both Minako and Yuuka wince. "They're the last two Shadows, and then the old man, yes?"

"No," Marya replied, getting to the point she had intended to make. "We will take only one more. Between you all, you will be capable enough. The last Shadow we will save."

"You've decided who it is then?" Lili asked.

Marya nodded. "Yes. Though it may have seemed like chance, you were all chosen for a reason. This woman will be able to supply the energy we need, and will make a good sister for you all."

Ryuuji huffed. "Another woman? I thought it needed to be male energy, for the old man's sake."

"I had thought so too," Marya admitted. "But when we found we could define the separate aspects in Minako's energy... That made our work easier. We know better what to look for now, and I think we have found the perfect match. We will fetch her in two night's time, but bringing her here unnoticed will be difficult. More so than with any of you, but it will be worth the risk.

"We will also need to distract a certain few individuals, and make sure they are not able to interfere. The most obvious is a man who is often close to her, and taking her without him noticing - even while he is across town - is where the difficulty lies. Minako, I would like you to make sure he is otherwise occupied when we go."

Minako took a deep breath, and nodded. "Okay. Distracting I can do. Who is he?"

"He works in the city, and as we understand his scheduling he should be leaving to see her when we move. Ryuuji found out about him for us, so he can take you there. Keep him from answering his pager or his phone. The other two Yuuta and Hikari can delay. I will provide details when I can confirm their schedules will remain unchanged that day."

The pair agreed, and Marya smiled at them all, relieved to have set the final mission in motion. "Good. Then that is all we need worry about for tonight. Go home, and rest well."

While most of them were eager to do just that a couple stayed behind, to spend the night in their room beneath the mansion.

"Marya-sama," Lili said, once the others had taken their leave, "You were very specific in giving Minako her task, but no-one else. There was something that you did not wish to tell her."

Lili was astute as she appeared. "I did not want to lie to her, if she had asked."

"About the one we are taking? You have made sure Minako is distracting herself, as well as this man you worry about?"

"I think Minako would feel safer if she had a friend here, as a sister Shadow. Someone she is close to, who thinks like she does. It might put her mind at ease."

"Oh. Yes, I see what you mean. That might be nice for her, Marya-sama."

000

"Ami, what happens when you turn this project in, and they try to check up on your methods?"

As ever, Haruka did not get Ami's eyes to meet her own. They were intent on analysing the data that scrolled past on her small supercomputer, and her fingers danced across the machine's keyboard in concert with them. For Haruka these analyses were uncomfortable at worst and dull at best, but they would have kept her younger lover absorbed for hours at a time if not for Haruka's boredom.

Thankfully Haruka was allowed to lie on one side or another these days. At twenty two weeks pregnant her bulge was now more prominent than some at her date, and was becoming difficult to hide even under her baggier clothes. The little girl inside was also a very notable weight now, so lying on her back for any length of time was not in Haruka's personal interests. Ami told her it was because she was still so thin, but Haruka suspected that her daughter was too laid back and intent on stretching out as much as possible in the space provided.

Haruka *certainly* wasn't thin when she looked in the mirror. Her hips had got fat, and she was losing her handsome jaw line. That was a crime, plain and simple.

Though Ami did not look up from her computer at the side of the bed, she did reply, ever the master of multi-tasking. "It's not as though we *couldn't* do this on regular equipment. It would just take too much time. As long as I explain how I was supposed to have been doing it, the examiners shouldn't pry too much. Setsuna-san will back me up on the 'defunct research project' whose sold-off equipment it was."

Haruka smiled, trying hard not to make herself more comfortable while Ami was scanning her abdomen. "I like your sneaky side. So how *is* baby?"

"Fit and healthy. She looks to be a proper weight now, so the larger diet is helping."

Haruka didn't want to think about the larger diet, or what her rear would look like in the mirror when this was over.

"The energy flow is much more of a two way process than I expected," Ami continued. "Baby's feeding you almost as much as you give her. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, since she hasn't established a defined energy trace of her own, but the whole process is more homogeneous than I thought it would be."

"You mean she's using me like a battery charger."

Ami giggled. "A little like that, I guess. She is already self-sufficient, but she hasn't established where you end and she begins yet."

"Greedy little munchkin."

Though she hoped it would not last too long, Haruka was content to let Ami work. There was more to look for than just the wellbeing of their baby, after all. Just as her mother had become something of a specialist in treating transformation victims by virtue of her proximity and experience with them, Ami's paper was following similar themes. How such things were possible, the types of energy that were required, and how human energy in general worked. Haruka's pregnancy was the ideal chance to see how that energy came into being in the first place, and how mother and child reacted on that level, as well as the chemical and physical one.

"Incidentally, I like your underwear, Haruka."

Haruka blinked in surprise. Ami's eyes hadn't moved from her screen, but she had coloured just slightly. It made Haruka smile, and it was actually something of a relief. It was rare for her to wear just that during their tests, but today she had chosen one of her special sets. It had been a bit of a disappointment when Ami had, once again, been so pre-occupied with her work.

Haruka did not consider her affection for underwear unusual. From the boxers and briefs that Setsuna so despised to extravagant lace and silk articles, what a person wore beneath their clothes spoke volumes about them, in Haruka's opinion. A suit, dress or blouse was there to be a person's presentable face, or to express support for whatever fashion or brand they might want to be seen (or hide) behind. Naked, they stood to be judged for their diet, lifestyle, and genes.

And that person's choice of small clothes revealed who they wanted to be for themselves, and their chosen person. Or persons, now, in her case. Haruka would change who she was for the day by what she wore under her suit, and experimentation intrigued her. Though her wardrobe was large, her collection of lingerie made up far more of it than it did for Michiru, or most others, she guessed. Simple, down to earth panties and bras, mannish and utilitarian briefs, seductive lace garters and corsets. Underwear for every occasion, and for every form of Haruka she might want. It was her own private indulgence, and it was long since time that she had shared it with Ami.

Even if Ami only ever wore the simplest articles. That was all she owned. Haruka hoped she would be able to persuade her into something daring on occasion. Ami would look ravishing in red lace, if only she was confident enough to wear it.

"I hoped you'd notice."

"It was hard not to." Still she typed, but she did at least allow her eyes to wander to the thin embroidered brassiere. In truth the garments were now too tight, and the under wire in particular left Haruka's poor breasts aching, but even now they still looked stunning. "Is there an occasion that I've forgotten?"

Haruka shook her head lazily. "No. Though I plan to have my way with you after we are done."

Ami laughed, blushing furiously, and her eyes returned to the computer screen. "You must be feeling better if you can say something like that."

"I definitely am," Haruka agreed. And she was. Up until now Michiru had been the one to surprise her with sex, and Haruka had done the same to Ami in her lighter moments, but since the baby shower her libido had begun to return quite unexpectedly, and with a vengeance. "You don't have anywhere to be tonight, do you?"

She reached out to stroke Ami's hair, and Ami smiled. "Actually, I do."

"Oh?"

Ami nodded, finally looking at Haruka properly. "I have you to keep occupied now."

Hmm, now where did she learn a line like that? Haruka wondered. She took Ami's hand briefly to kiss it. Just one more reason to hope the scans would be finished soon.

000

It was a rare thing to see the Hikawa Shrine closed for a full day. Though its trade was only brisk during festival and holiday times, the slow, constant trickle of custom through its gates kept the place profitable enough to remain open. Any day they were not offering advice and selling fortunes was a day that would eat into those small profits, and this winter's Monday was one such rare day. Worse, this time it was not even down to Senshi business, which had caused Rei to close up in the past while her grandfather had been away.

Usagi stood at the bottom of the stone stairway that led up through the trees, and stared at the hand painted wooden plaque that hung across the entrance, marking the shrine closed for the day. Until she had got there she had not been pleased with her antagonistic playmate. While they could only get together once or twice a week she always made the effort to keep in touch with her friends by phone or e-mail as frequently as possible, and though not all of them were as sociable in kind (Setsuna being the prime suspect, though Michiru was also reticent when it came to e-mail) it had been very unlike Rei to be so brusque with her recently.

Actually that wasn't true, it was exactly like Rei to be rude and argumentative over the phone, or any other time they got together. However, there was a difference between Rei making her usual fuss over nothing, and accusing Usagi of wasting her time when Rei had real work to be doing.

And then Rei had hung up. No argument, no silly name-calling, no friendliness behind the curt jibe. It had come completely out of the blue, and left Usagi wondering what the hell might have got into her friend recently. Had she been interpreting their little fights more seriously than Usagi had? Certainly, as far as Usagi knew there had been no fight between Rei and Makoto to prompt this.

Though Makoto had mailed back to say that Rei was sensitive right now. No reasons, but it did at least mean that *something* was up. So, Usagi had come straight from university, a significant detour for her, to get to the bottom of it. If nothing else she could give Rei a piece of her mind for being so rude, and if she had done something to upset her friend then maybe she could put that right as well, whatever it actually was. But if the shrine was closed, then it had to be something more than just a fight that Usagi hadn't known she'd had.

And, while she considered the stairway, the second concerned party arrived, laden down with groceries after her day's work.

"Usagi-chan! What are you doing here?"

Usagi would have asked the same question, but then Makoto had every reason to be there these days. "Well, after she yelled at me and hung up the phone I wanted to talk to her, but..." She motioned to the sign that hung across the stairway. "Is she really okay?"

Makoto nodded, but she didn't look happy about it. "She's okay. Just... stressed. It's not like she's tried to hide it or anything, but she'll be mad at you if you come up though."

Usagi frowned. "Let her be mad then. Just tell me what's going on!"

Makoto ducked low under the rope. "Grandpa caught a cold."

Usagi paused half way under the rope herself. Honestly she didn't know whether to giggle as the though of the vibrant old man with the sniffles, or shocked that it was enough to close the shrine. "But he's always so bouncy!"

"Yup," Makoto agreed, quite serious. "Rei thought he'd be fine in a couple of days, but that was a week ago."

"What? Really?" The thought was appalling. "Grandpa's really sick?"

Makoto just shrugged. "It's just a cold, apparently. It's just hit him harder than she expected, and the weather hasn't helped."

That Usagi could understand. It had turned properly cold, and even though it was bright and clear out she was in long, thick socks and her winter coat because of that.

"I could help out today," Makoto said, as if excusing herself for her absence, "and Rei had to be at uni today or end up like me, so... She would have given anything to have Yuuichiro back right now."

"Grandpa's been alone in bed all day?" Usagi asked in disbelief.

Makoto nodded. "We had one of the neighbours from down the street call in and make lunch, but no-one else was available to stay and help."

"I would have!" Usagi exclaimed, appalled that no-one had told her, but Makoto just shrugged again.

"I would have said, but Rei would have kicked my ass for making you skip school."

"But this is Grandpa! We can't just leave him alone like this!"

"I know!" Makoto snapped, before she looked shocked at herself and apologised just as suddenly. "Sorry. Believe me, I know. But the old housewife down the road was happy to help, and Rei's been a bit worried, okay? Rei and I have been looking after him so far, and she thought he'd be up and about by now."

Usagi's pace slowed as they reached the top of the steps. "You mean he's not getting better?"

"Oh, no, I'm sure he will," Makoto replied, her sudden, confident smile making Usagi feel better. "He's too frolicsome to let a cold beat him."

Inside they found Grandpa Hino awake, but safely tucked in bed with the remains of his lunch on the tray at his side. It seemed too out of character that he hadn't tried to get out and take to the living room at least, even though it probably would have done him no good at all.

"Makoto-chan, and Usagi-chan. What luck." A large, toothy smile spread across the old man's round, wrinkled face as he saw them. "And as pretty as ever. You haven't come to cater to little old me, have you?"

"You know we have, Gramps," Makoto said, as if nothing was wrong. "I hope Watanabe-san looked after you well."

"Oh, yes, another lovely girl, she is. Quite a darling, though not as pretty as you both."

"Grandpa, please!" Usagi blushed theatrically, while Makoto just rolled her eyes and reached for the empty bowls.

"You behave yourself, Gramps. Rei should be back any minute, so I'll go and put some supper on for you. I thought you'd be bored of chicken, so I'll make some chilli pork ramen. How does that sound?"

"You're a treat for this old man," Grandpa Hino replied. His usual lack of subtlety was apparent as always, but the glint in his eye was far more subdued.

"You're not old, Grandpa," Usagi said, eager to play up to his flattery while Makoto took away the lunch bowls.

"My bald head seems to disagree with you, Usagi-chan," the old man replied reaching up from beneath the covers to prod at his lack of hair.

"Bah! That doesn't mean anything. My Dad was going bald even before I was born – I've seen the photos! - and he's not old yet. But don't tell him that!"

"Ah, poor Genji-kun. Yes, do you know that he and your mother come and visit me? You are lucky to have such good parents."

"Good parents? *My* parents? But they're so mean! Mum would always get cross when I scored low on my school tests, she even shut me out of the house, and Daddy scared my Mamo-chan away before he even gave him a chance. *Maybe* they had their good points," she conceded, "like the cool birthday presents, and cakes, but that's it!"

A she had hoped Grandpa Hino chuckled. "Ah, maybe I am being too soft on Rei then. It was obviously worth being a little mean if it turned you into such a wonderful young woman!"

This time Usagi's blush was genuine much to the older man's amusement, and it was the sound of the sliding door outside that let her off the hook.

"Ah, that will be my granddaughter. You should go and say hello, Usagi-chan, before she catches you with me!"

Usagi would have poo-pooed the idea, but for the memory of just how angry Rei had sounded last time the spoke. If she was going to be like that again, it would be better if it didn't happen in front of her grandfather.

"Okay Grandpa. I'll be back in a bit, so behave yourself, okay?"

The old man just smiled, and nodded slightly, leaving the girl to slip out, and almost collide with Rei as they both met in the hallway.

"What? What are you doing here, dumpling-head!"

"I came so see Grandpa." It wasn't exactly a lie. If she had known about his cold she *would* have come to se him. "You didn't say he was sick."

"What? That's because..." Rei stood there fuming for a moment, completely off guard. "I don't believe you!"

"I'd have come and looked after him if you'd said," Usagi added, completely unmindful of Rei's sudden outburst.

"I don't need your help," Rei retorted, soldiering on regardless. "It's just a cold! He'll be fine!"

"I know," Usagi replied. Whether that was the case or not, Usagi would believe it until proven otherwise. "But I still would have looked after him, if you had to be at school. I don't have classes tomorrow morning either, if you want me to help with the Shrine."

Rei looked apoplectic, her fists balled at her sides, until Usagi saw the tears that had been forming in her eyes. "God damn it, Usagi! Why do you have to butt in?"

Usagi answered honestly, as came naturally. "Because you're my friend. Why didn't you tell anyone? Everyone would want to seem him, if they knew."

Makoto was watching from the kitchen doorway now, and they both knew it, but she said nothing at let Rei speak for herself. "Because..."

Didn't Rei even have a reason?

"Because it's just a cold," was her final, wavering answer. "Why isn't he better already? We've got cold medicine."

Usagi took Rei into her arms and hugged her, and Rei didn't bother to resist. She obviously needed the comfort, and Usagi as more than happy to try and easy her friend's mind. "It's okay. *I* know what he's like, and he'll be fine. Right Mako-chan?"

Makoto nodded, stirring whatever was in the measuring jug she held. "Yeah. The doctor said we've just got to wait it out, right?"

Rei sighed, and pried herself out of Usagi's arms. "Yeah. I guess. But what... I'm just worried, okay?"

"Of course, he's your Grandpa," Usagi said. It was obvious. "So, do you want me to help tomorrow?"

Rei sighed, and Usagi had to wonder how hard it was to decide whether she needed he help of not. "Sure. Why look a gift horse in the mouth?"

"Who are you calling a horse?"

"I wonder. Just don't skip out on anything for it, okay?"

Usagi beamed. "Sure. I get to wear one of those shrine outfits, right?"

"Of course you do."

"Great! And I can tell the others, so they can come and say 'hi'? I'm sure they'd bring fruit too. And chocolate."

Rei hesitated over that, but nodded, "I'll tell them, okay? Just don't make a fuss about it or anything. He needs rest."

"Sure!"

"Come on then. If you're staying for a bit you can give him his medicine. He'll probably like that."

000

As ever it was late when Mizuno Katsura returned home, but rarely had she ever got in to be met with a ringing telephone. To most 11.30pm was too unsociable an hour to be calling anyone, and those who knew her well knew how futile it was to call her house phone when her pager was always on her, and her cellular not far away.

The Tsukinos were not 'most people' though, as it was little Usagi's mother who spoke when Katsura picked up, just before her answering machine did so for her.

"Ah, Mizuno-sensei. I hope I haven't caught you at a bad time. I know it is late."

Ikuko knew full well that Katsura was never at home until it was late anyway, and Katsura politely brushed aside the pleasantry to get to the point with all the politeness she could. "Not at all, Ikuko-san. How can I help you at this hour?"

Not that she wasn't above pointing that out, even when on first name terms.

Either way Ikuko was happy to oblige. "You haven't heard about Hino-san, have you, Katsura-sensei? Usagi dropped by to tell us this evening, on her way home, but he's sick!"

Instantly Katsura felt her professional side taking over again. "No, I hadn't heard. Do you know what he is ill with?"

"Just a cold, Usagi said. But he's been in bed for a week, and I thought you might want to visit him. Dear Rei-chan and Makoto-chan have been keeping the shrine open as best they can, apparently, but I'm going to visit him for the day tomorrow, so that Rei and my daughter can work the shrine."

Would that Katsura had the time to do something similar. "Yes, I'll have to visit when I can. Maybe Thursday morning. I suppose Rei-chan didn't think to let us know, but do Ami or the other girls know yet?"

"No, Usagi only found out today. It seems Rei-chan didn't want to worry anyone besides herself."

Makoto-chan, you shouldn't be so soft on her, Katsura thought to herself, but knowing how uncomfortable Ikuko could be about that arrangement she didn't voice it. "I suppose you've spoken to the Ainos?"

"Yes, I called them earlier this evening. I don't know if they'll go, they've been so unsociable recently, but I thought I ought to tell them. I think that Rei-chan would appreciate it if you went though Katsura-sensei. You're a doctor. I'm sure it would make her feel better if you went to see him."

"I will. Do you know if Makoto-chan is going to be there with them tomorrow as well?"

Katsura had expected the pause that followed, before Ikuko replied. "... I don't think so. I assumed that she would be working or at school, if Usagi was going to help out."

"Well, give them my regards in any case, and when she does turn up tell Makoto-chan that I will visit when I can. Thank you for the call Ikuko-san."

"Yes. Not at all, Katsura-sensei. Good night."

Poor Ikuko, Katsura thought as she put the phone back on its receiver. A day out of the house, with her daughter and Rei for company? Surely she hadn't forgotten what a handful that pair could be? Katsura certainly hadn't. Hopefully between the three of them they could make sure that the shrine was run properly and that Grandpa Hino was cared for.

At least until Makoto arrived. She doubted the steadfast chef would be away from the shrine for longer than she had to be right now. It was... unusual, after watching them grow up with her daughter, if at a distance, but there was something heart-warming about the way they spoke of each other, and behaved in each others' presence. It gave her a little more hope for her own daughter's happiness, and her likewise... unusual circumstances.

000

The sun had already surrendered for the day when the appointed hour came around, and Tokyo's businessmen slowly began to file out of their office buildings on their way home. Though she had no need of the dusk shadows it seemed somehow apt to Minako that she should do her hunting once the sun had gone down.

Hunting, that made it sound so much more exciting. In reality she was perched on a windowsill fifteen stories up, visible only as an optical illusion in the corner of someone's eye from inside, watching the world go by beneath her. The Shadow kept her hidden even sitting there clear as day, just as it would give her the strength and precision to leap down from sill to sill when it came time to reach the ground.

The same was true of Ryuuji, crouched like a gargoyle several floors down. He did not have Minako's talent for vertical height, but he had no need of speed or agility when it came down to the wire. His Shadow was of a sturdier bent.

As it had on past ventures having to accost an unknown member of the public did not sit well with Minako. True, she was not performing any abduction this time, but to keep this man who she had never even met away from the woman he would be returning to see. Minako felt sorry for him. He would not even know she was gone until long after the fact, and even after their deceptions had been dispensed with he would no longer be quite the same as her. Such was the case with Yuuta's wife, and Hikari's housemates. Even Minako's own friends and family. Knowing that she was now something other than they were, civilian and Senshi both, fed an insecurity that she could contain only for the sake of Marya and her fellow Shadow vessels.

But how would Usagi feel, once the truth was known? What would her mother or father say? She had quite literally given up her life for the sake of another, and in doing so bound herself to people who had committed crimes in order to save those they had 'died' for. Whether it had been voluntary or not was beside the point now. She had accepted what had been done, but she was conscious that, weeks on now, she still did so less vocally than most of her siblings. Was that a sign of weakness, or strength? She no longer knew.

Not that it worried her now. Though dull, waiting for their man to appear, there was a sense of fun to be had sitting half way up a skyscraper like a raptor waiting for her mouse, or a spy on stakeout.

Below her, and with excellent eyesight it would seem, Ryuuji spotted the one they were to waylay and pushed himself from the windowsill. "There he is."

Minako followed his outstretched arm, thankful that whatever Shadow power masked them from sight did not apply to one another, and she leaped lightly down two floors, her toes alighting on the sill that met them before falling another three, dancing down to the busy ground level.

Ryuuji was less concerned with nimbleness, and fell the full thirteen floors to land unharmed on bended knee, a sudden gust of wind the only notice any of the pedestrians could take of his entrance until he chose to become one of them.

And when he did so he appeared not as spectral bogymen, but merely as himself. H and Minako caused no alarm because they had, after all, been strolling quite peaceably towards their man and just hadn't been noticed until that point.

There was also a wisdom in sending Minako on this task specifically, she had realised. Being so well recognised, both from the stage and advertising, but most obviously for appearing on camera with Sailor Uranus, it was unusual for her to walk far before being recognised. Surely this Jin would be more willing to humour Aino Minako for a half-hour than he would most other strange girls who accosted him in the street.

"Karasuro-san?" she called, once they were close enough to seem natural. "Hi! Can I have a minute?"

Jin picked her out instantly, and as expected he recognised her almost as quickly. "Ah, Aino-san?"

And then he did the unthinkable. He revealed just how she should have known him, if only by his words and not him name. "Certainly, I have a moment. Shall we walk together? Seeing as you are friends with Haruka-san and Michiru-san, may I ask how they are? I was hoping to visit them, and see if Haruka-san had given any further thought to an interview in person. I gave that nice Mizuno-san my details, but sad to say I've still not heard back."

Minako's smiling face froze, her eyes wide and her mind racing. She looked up to Ryuuji, but he remained impassive behind his friendly smile. "I cannot presume to say, but Aino-san and myself might be able to help. Over coffee, perhaps? Right, Aino-san?"

000

It was not often that Michiru still collected Hotaru from school, but it had become a pleasant habit on those days when the art club kept her daughter late. Hotaru was more than capable of catching the bus herself, but the drive was one of the few times that they had to bond without Haruka around to poke her curious nose in, and no doubt distract one or other of them away from their quality time together.

And it was nice to have created that routine out of what had originally been a compromise, and an awkward one at that. It had been an uphill struggle to get Hotaru to attend the art club that Michiru had arranged for her, not because she disliked the subject, but because it had come after yet another school change in the wake of her accelerated growth, and she had been less than willing to socialise because of it.

Both Michiru and Haruka had thought it healthier if she had an activity after school hours where she could make friends among children with similar interests, even if she did not wish to do so during school time itself. Hotaru had hated the idea more passionately than either had believed possible of her, but she had attended obediently, and sulked the entire time. Then, if she was to be forced to attend, Hotaru reasoned that she should not have to walk home again as it got dark, and so one or other of her parents would take her back again, where Hotaru could display just how much she disliked being forced to attend.

The argument had not lasted on either side, but Michiru considered that her own input into what they had arranged for their girl had probably been too transparent to avoid it. More often than not it was Michiru, with her more regular working schedule, who got to take Hotaru home, and likewise it was she who had pressed so vocally about art being such a good subject to socialise over.

Hotaru had merely said that Michiru was forcing her to do what Michiru would have done, and to an extent that was true. Haruka's playfulness and leisurely good humour had captured Hotaru easily, but Michiru had found it more difficult to bond with her young daughter. They often had little to talk about beyond how school had been, or what either of them had done that day, and at least Hotaru's budding interest in painting was something in her life that Michiru felt she could be a part of.

Now that was exactly what it had become, and as she drove Hotaru was happy to tell her all about how her latest painting was going, what the others in the club thought, and all the little arguments and debates they had about style and meaning. Though their own styles and approaches differed greatly, the pair did agree on a few key points. Nether saw the appeal in producing photo-realism or true impressionism themselves, and neither liked to ascribe too much meaning to their work. Whether light or dark in tone, whatever the focus, they both let their pictures tell their own story, with a minimum of accompanying exposition. If the a title alone could not put the painting in the correct light, if it even needed such context, then was it something they should have painted instead of written or photographed? Could it not simply be appreciated as art on its own merits?

Such conversations were common on these drives, but all the more notable for their absence that day. It had been a curious pair that had accosted them outside the school, eager to speak to Michiru about her work, and it had left them uneasy.

Though she was certainly a celebrity in several circles, it was unusual for her to be accosted in the street. In a music store or gallery it was more common, and she was certainly *recognised* as she passed people day to day, but this was the first time in a long while that anyone had stopped her out of the blue to be talked at.

She was a homosexual after all, and it was rare that she would appear in the papers or on television without that little fact being mentioned as soon as possible. People were much less likely to stop you in public if they and everyone around them knew that.

This pair though, a young woman of about Michiru's age and a much older man, had been more than eager to hold her up and wax lyrical about her recently unveiled piece. And when would she next appear in concert, and congratulations on Haruka's conception, and wouldn't it be exiting for Hotaru to have a baby in the house to coddle.

It wasn't hard to believe that they had been there to see the school, looking to send the young woman's niece there now that she was old enough, but to choose such a time to talk had rubbed Michiru the wrong way. They seemed unconcerned that either they or Michiru might have had a home to go to, and Hotaru had said similar after Michiru had finally managed to make her excuses and leave. They had been stood talking outside the gate for a full twenty minutes, and it was not warm out there!

It seemed to have set the tone for the entire journey, Michiru thought, a little bitter, because now she felt a nagging the back of her mind that something had been very *wrong* about the whole thing. She couldn't think what, beyond the absurdity of standing out there to make such one sided conversation, but it spurred her to drive a little faster than she would have. Hotaru seemed to share her worries, though she did not say as much, and Michiru forced herself to make conversation to keep their minds off the odd encounter.

It was a relief to get home, into the warm and among loved ones again. "We're home!"

For a moment there was no reply, before Sailor Mercury strode into view from the hallway.

Michiru's breath caught in her throat, suddenly dreading that the nagging worry in her mind might have been more than just her own unease. "Mercury?"

Sailor Mercury looked at them both as if she had wanted to retreat back into Mizuno Ami's guise, if only for their sake, but even so she stood firm, her computer in hand. "Welcome back. I'm afraid Haruka is gone."

Hotaru instantly reached for Michiru's hand, and Michiru held it tightly, both for her daughter and to stop the sudden trembling in her fingers. "G-Gone?"

Sailor Mercury nodded, distraught behind her blue visor. "She was missing when I returned. There are no signs of forced entry or any sort of struggle. She would have left a note on the table, if she had gone out?"

"Yes," Michiru bit out, worry and anger fighting for dominance within her. "And you would not be dressed like that if you thought she had gone for a drive."

"The door wasn't deadlocked," Mercury confirmed. "And none of her shoes are missing. Her energy signature shows she left via the back, and then out through the garage, though her bike is still here. But, if she was taken, there is no trace of those that did it. Nothing at all."

Michiru looked to her daughter. "Hotaru, do you have your pen?"

Beside her the girl nodded, and pulled the small sphere-topped wand from the bottom of her school bag. Michiru did the same from her purse, and a moment later both Sailor Neptune and Sailor Saturn stood there, stoic and resolute.

"I've called the others," Mercury said, turning aside. "I may just be overreacting, but what I've seen doesn't make sense. I had spoken to her about dinner on my way home."

Then a fourth voice cut in, older, and one not heard for weeks now. Sailor Pluto's.

"I'm afraid it makes perfect sense, Mercury. I was just hoping for better."

000

Minako stood with her Shadowed siblings around the apparatus that each of them had once been fixed to at one time or another. Now, from the upright frame, hung Tenoh Haruka, slowly returning to consciousness.

Minako had not stayed to play her part with the journalist. Instead she had hurried to Haruka's home, to find the deed already done, and the house tidied as if nothing had ever happened. Beside her Yuuka lay a comforting hand on her shoulder, her soft words of reassurance echoing those Marya had spoken not half an hour before. "It will be good to have her here. You always spoke so fondly of her. How could we not bring her here, when her energy is all that we will need to complete Marya's design?"

Minako had not told them that Haruka was one of the Sailor Senshi. Even now she did not say a word. She would not need to. Either Marya already knew, or it soon would come as a great surprise to everyone but her. Marya would not have made a mistake. Haruka's energy was exactly what they needed, or she would not be there. But to take *two* of the Senshi away from their ranks? Was that going too far?

And what about Haruka's little girl?

She realised she had spoken her worry only when Marya paused in her preparations and came to her. "Minako, would I have taken her if it meant her babe would come to harm?"

And the answer was obvious. "No. No, you wouldn't. Would you?"

Marya shook her head, kind and motherly. "The shadow can provide for her, just as it will your dear friend."

Haruka blinked, standing awkwardly in her harness on the Shard machine, only now registering the crowd that stood around her. "Where..? Who are you people?"

Then she saw, "M-Minako-chan?"

Minako, for all her faith in her patron, could not meet Haruka's gaze.

"Minako-chan? What is this?"

While Minako stared at the floor, her loyalty drenched in shame, Marya answered for her. "I don't know what you would call it, but a rebirth would be as fitting as any description, Haruka."

Recognition flashed in Haruka's eyes at once. "Ono-san?" She struggled in her restrains, unable to get leverage in her arms. "Who *are* you people? What have you done to Minako-chan?"

"We kidnapped her," Marya said, gravely, "and stripped her of her life's energy. We... *I* recruited her, against her will, because I needed the energy she possessed. Thankfully she was good enough to listen to my reasons, and accept the exchange that I offered for the energy she held. She is a good girl, loyal, kind, and talented, and willing to perform the tasks I gave her, distasteful though they might have been."

"You've brainwashed her?"

"No," Minako spoke out now. "No, I could have fought. But my energy can save people Haruka-san. It can be used to heal, and set things right. If losing it means I can still live my life, and have friends, and a family that cares what I do..."

She looked around her, to the men and women who began to smile at her words. "And Rei-chan and the others were right. I did change, after Seiji. I was afraid you didn't trust me to do the right thing."

Haruka was staring at her like she was a stranger. "And this is the 'right thing', is it?"

"It is," Marya confirmed. "It is for us." She took a bundle of cloth from the workbench behind her, and unwrapped it to reveal the Crystal Shard. Minako had never seen it glow so brightly, at least not when it had not been her strapped to the apparatus, the blunt tip touching her chest and pulling away what had seemed like everything her body had to offer.

And the others seemed just as awed.

"That shine is your power, Haruka. The power of a Sailor Senshi, locked within you. The power to save how many people, reserved solely for you?"

So she had known. Haruka looked in disbelief that Marya could have discovered it, or that Minako might have admitted their secret.

"I don't blame our Minako for not telling us just how important you were. Both a dear friend, and a fellow in the Sailor Senshi. But you will still have power to rival whatever it is the that Moon gifted you with, and you will finally allow me to save my father."

"Your father..." Haruka said, at a loss as she tried to free herself once again. "But you own his company! Didn't you parents *die*?"

"Yes," the regal woman admitted, as she secured the Sharn into its cradle. "And yours is the final life that will help save him."

"You're crazy! Minako-chan! Don't let them do this! Minako-chan!"

Minako stepped forward, feeling tears trickling down her face, but she only took Haruka's hand. "It's... It's okay, Haruka-kun. It hurts, but you'll be fine. I'll be here afterwards... okay?" It was a weak, hopeful voice, but one that could not give Haruka any comfort as she struggled.

"Damn it, Minako-chan! You can't do this! You're Sailor Venus! Maybe you think you're doing the right thing, but you can't take people's lives! What about my baby!"

Minako could only weep, and hold Haruka's hand as best she could as the crystal touched her friend's chest, and the pale green energy began to seep painfully out of her body and into the Shard. "I'm sorry, Haruka-san. You'll be fine. You both will."

Please, I only hope you will forgive me when you wake up.

000

With her communicator forgotten in all her worrying, buried at the bottom of her bag, Minako had not heard the call that came from her communicator half an hour before.

000

Every other member of the Sailor Senshi had answered the call, but with Sailor Pluto's belated reappearance they converged on the house, making their plans there instead of following Sailor Mercury's faint lead on Haruka's trail.

"Where is Venus?" Sailor Moon worried, pacing back and forth as they waited for Jupiter to arrive arrived. "I bet she left her watch next to her bed again. And Luna! All that talk about responsibility and *she* doesn't show up?"

Though she had been the first to say it they all shared that same thought. If one of them could not make it to a call they at least answered their communicators, if only to see how critical the situation might be.

Pluto did have and answer for them though, misleading though it was. "Minako-chan is already there. She is the reason I know where they have taken Haruka-san."

It was not uncommon for Neptune to believe there was something that Pluto was not telling them, but it worried her that she should feel it now of all times. There was time for clarification later though, as it was then that Jupiter appeared.

"Right, I'm here! Sorry. Let's kick some butt! Hey, isn't Venus here yet?"

Several of the shook their heads, but Neptune made sure she was the one to answer as she led them outside to the back garden. "Sailor Pluto can explain in full when we get there."

Sailor Moon nodded, reaching out her hands, and one by one they all gathered in a circle on the lawn, each holding the hands of the Senshi next to them. "I can't believe the night garden was where they were after all," she sighed, before straightening her head and looking to the cloudy sky. "Sailor Teleport!"

000

On the motorway leading out of Tokyo Tuxedo Mask rode at breakneck speed, weaving through the early evening traffic with skill a professional biker like Haruka would have been proud of. It was fortunate that whatever power allowed his tuxedo clad alter-ego to balance effortlessly on a lamppost conferred the same innate balance to him when on his motorcycle, wearing nothing but his magically gifted dinner jacket and masquerade piece.

Though he had no communicator Usagi would be sure to keep him informed of their fights these days, but it had not always been so. He still possessed the intuition of his past, princely self, and as long as he heeded that intuition he would find himself exactly where he needed to be for her sake.

He looked up to see a rainbow tailed star fly briefly overhead, and gunned the engine on his bike.

000

Though the play had ended almost a month before the Midnight Garden remained open in the few days remaining before Christmas, and the place still managed to turn a crowd, bundled in their winter coats and gloves to make the most of any holiday they already had. Sailors Mars and Jupiter had been ready to march in through the front gates, but Sailor Moon had heeded the others' advice and brought them to rest behind the haunted house. Though they knew the place, they still did not know who, or what, might have wanted Haruka kidnapped.

None but Sailor Pluto at any rate, and several of them suspected that she was not as certain of things as she wished to be, to still keep her cards close to her chest.

"So," Neptune ventured, aiming to see her play as many of those cards as possible, "where is 'Minako-chan', Sailor Pluto."

Pluto paused, already striding towards the much more mundane rear of the building, and she sighed. She had evidently not wished to mention it yet. "Minako-chan is with the enemy. She has been working with them."

"What!" cried several of the younger heroines, their disbelief clear.

"I do not know why she was taken," Pluto said, speaking over the immediate denials of the others, "or why she agreed to help them, but she was, and she did. This is a *blessing*, girls. Even if she has been brainwashed or something similar, she is still one of us, and a Sailor Senshi. If it was not her, someone else would have taken her place among them, I am sure. Be grateful we have an ally in their midst."

Though furious at the thought, Neptune watched as Sailor Moon stepped forward, her innocent, naive eyes wet. "But why? Why would she do this?"

Pluto's smile was as kind as it was out of place after such a revelation. "That is for you to ask *her*. As for the others, and there are others, besides Ono-san, they I cannot tell you of. They were taken as Haruka was, and we must hope that we are in time to prevent the same happening to her."

"The same what?" Saturn asked as they hurried on, her face turning from orderly blankness – so unlike Hotaru's - to worry.

Pluto stared straight ahead, leading the march. "Replacing their life energy with... something else."

000

The office side of the building seemed empty to Sailor Moon, but the few rare technicians or administrators they did meet looked shocked beyond belief to see them trooping through their halls. Even worse must have been their collective expressions; earnest, tense, worried or outright furious. One man let his sheaf of papers slip from his suddenly numb fingertips, and Sailor Moon couldn't blame him. Even if they were the good guys, many of them only matching his height because of their outfits' heels, it must have been a little scary to see them all marching through their halls so gravely.

Usagi would not have been able to say. She had never met a Sailor Senshi, all suited up and powerful, before she had been one herself. But, if she had somehow met an angry Sailor V before Luna had given Usagi her transformation pen, it probably would have been a bit scary.

The thought of Sailor V only made her worry more for Minako. She had been the first of them to take up the mantle of a Senshi, and the most outspoken of them all when they had always announced their pursuit of 'love and justice'.

Also, if Minako was helping these people, then what about Artemis? And if something had happened to him, then was the same thing keeping Luna from joining them? Minako would never have allowed something to harm them. She loved Artemis like a... very cat-like brother.

Pluto stopped them at the lift, just as its doors opened, and ushered them inside. "Sailor Mercury, please send us down."

Mercury looked at the control panel, confused when there was no button for a lower floor, until she saw the keyhole. "Understood." A few keystrokes on her computer and a lead to the opened elevator panel later, and they were descending.

The basement did not look like the dark, sterile laboratory or the haunting cavern that she might have expected from Ono Marya's lair. There were no theatrics, just plush red carpet and pale lavender walls, the same floral seeming, well lit corridors as there were above.

But it sounded like a lair. Muttered voices came from the doorway further in, punctuated by faint flashes of pale green light, in time with cries that sounded like...

"Haruka-kun!"

The seven of them dashed to the room in question, only halting inside when Sailor Moon stopped in front of them. The caged animals around them squeaked and cried louder now that new people had arrived to hear them, and eight figures, all wearing simple clothes in black, grey and shades of red, stood around the thrumming machine against the left wall. Marya stood in the middle of them, her white bat resting on a crimson shoulder.

There were not enough of them to hide Haruka, who hung from the contraption limp and tired.

"Haruka!" Neptune cried, stepping forward and already bringing up her arms to cast her magic, but in turn the two men closest to them stepped forward, both looking perturbed, but not in the least afraid.

Sailor Moon's eyes were drawn elsewhere though, to Minako, standing beside the woman she recognised as the narrator of the garden's play. Sailor Moon raised her hand, reaching out to her.

"Minako-chan."

Her heart lifted when, to Marya's obvious concern, Minako did step forward. But only one step. "I'm... sorry, Sailor Moon. I think you were right about me."

As if to bolster her resolve Marya stood beside her, a hand on her shoulder. Her bat chirruped at them, as if sensing the mood. "We aren't finished yet," the business magnate told her other followers. "We can't let them interfere."

In turn Pluto stepped past Sailor Moon, turning her eyes to the darkly clad group before them. "Is *this* what you wanted to sell your lives for? Kidnapping? Theft?" Her eyes past through them, to Haruka. "Murder?"

Then, to Sailor Moon's pity, the man in the black tailored business suit, Mochizuki Ryuuji, threw back his head and laughed. "Why *wouldn't* we? No one has *died*, woman, and what have we stolen? A few replaceable baubles and chemicals. And the power?"

He raised his arms and instantly from the shadows came claws of darkness to sheath them. "Power like you wouldn't believe, Senshi Pluto! Power to make the world right, in the palms of our hands! You may be content with committees, politics and compromises, but I'm not!"

A younger girl beside him, Takagi Yuuka, spoke then, but with without any of the man's arrogance or defiance. To Sailor Moon she seemed almost referential. "Please, Sailor Senshi. We don't wish to fight you, because we are working towards the same goals. We can use this power to *protect* people. To save lives."

"And it would cost that woman her own life's energy to do so?" Mercury asked, analysing their life signs even as she spoke. "The being inside of you has not replaced your energy! You are at its mercy!"

"And it asks nothing of us," Marya answered, her eyes now hooded and dark. "It never has. I am sorry that our family must cost you another Senshi, but for Minako's sake I know she will see that it was worth the sacrifice."

"No, I won't."

The voice was faint and pained, but both Marya and Minako turned as Haruka spoke.

"I won't leave my girls... or my baby... not for you. This might be your choice, Mina-chan," she whispered, full of tired disappointment, "...but it's sure as hell not mine. ... Get me out of here, dumpling head."

That was the signal, it seemed, and Minako turned away distraught as Marya swore on her behalf. "Damn! Keep them back! She will see sense."

The Shadow children surged froward in what little room there was, varied shadows engulfing them to protect them or provide them weapons to wield, and Sailor Moon's Senshi met them there. It was too cramped a room to fight, and the Shadows seemed to have the advantage as they leaped and danced around in the confined space, bouncing over workbenches and making it difficult for the Senshi to aim their attacks. Even Marya waded into battle when Pluto made for her. The bat on her shoulder flew for safety as dark claws sprouted from Marya's fingers and her face was contorted by shadow into something drawn, fanged and sinister.

But Sailor Moon knew they could not lose, because her companions fought to save their friend, and though they fought not all the Shadows seemed to want to. Yuuka, the girl who had spoken with such respect, never even attacked as she warded Sailor Mercury away from the draining apparatus, trying to reason all the while until Mercury could finally subdue her. Ryuuji might have fought all out, enough to keep both Mars and Jupiter occupied, but several of the others also showed signs of hesitation, and with Neptune and Saturn fighting so strongly to reach Haruka they would not have been denied success. Even Ryuuji was given pause when Saturn, free from Hikari's harassment, brought her Silence Glaive down to slice clean through his claws, their tips fading into nothingness.

"Marya-sama! The one with the blade, she can cut away the Shadow!"

Sailor Moon did not fight though. As the cacophony of combat swirled about them she stood in front of Minako, merely talking. "So, you did choose this?"

Minako nodded, teary eyed. "Not at first, but they needed me. I didn't feel any different, but they're like family now. I couldn't abandon them. I just wanted to do the right thing. And I *brought* half of them here! I didn't want it to go like this, Sailor Moon. It's just, if *my* Dad died, I'd want to bring him back too."

"And the cats, are they okay?"

"Yes. I... they're in our room here. They would have told you, and I didn't want you to see this."

It was heartbreaking seeing one of her closest friends torn up over her own feeling like this. She knew that she might lose her, but Sailor Moon had to ask. "Do you want to stay?"

And, in the end, it was Minako's loyalty to that kind and understanding princess that finally won through. "Not if I have to fight you."

Minako took Sailor Moon's sceptre in her hands, and pulled it to her chest. "Okay?"

As far as Sailor Moon was concerned, it had never been more so. "Okay."

However, at the back of the room Marya knew exactly was she was doing, and cried out to her children to stop them. "She'll ruin everything!"

None of her Shadows had the chance to obey. Striding through the doorway, his cape flowing in his wake, was Tuxedo Mask. With each potential enemy already well in hand he picked his obvious target, and from the breast pocket of his jacket he threw his trademark rose. From any other hand it would have fallen harmlessly to the floor, but his power sent the cut flower unerringly at the glowing crystal that rested in its cradle against Haruka's heart.

Marya screamed in despair as the rose embedded itself right through the crystal, breaking it and its cradle free of their rails and sending them clattering to the floor. Almost immediately Haruka slumped forward, the pain subsiding, and the green tendrils of her energy began to leak out of the blunt and broken crystal's edges, back towards her.

"No! W-What have you done!"

The distraction was enough for Pluto to bring her staff down clean on Marya's head and send her sprawling on the floor. Marya scrambled over to the cracked and leaking crystal, but the energy inside was too dense for the broken mineral to contain. The thing exploded where Tuxedo Mask had punctured it, spraying Marya with vicious green shrapnel. Energy spewed out in all directions, searching for the bodies it belonged to. Marya recoiled, clutching at one bleeding eye, before taking the largest of the still leaking pieces and lifting it up to the machine's flaring electrodes. "F-Father..."

To Tuxedo Mask that needed to be the end of it. "Sailor Moon! If you plan to heal them, now is the time!"

Sailor Moon gave one last nod to Minako, who returned it hesitantly.

"Moon Healing Escalation!"

Sailor Moon felt the familiar surge of power leaving her, and the white flash. She smiled as if faded, only to see Minako wobble in front of her and fall limp.

"Minako-chan!" Sailor Moon cried as she caught her. She tapped her gently to wake her. It didn't work. Nor did the shake she gave her as panic began to set it. "Minako-chan!"

"Over here!" Sailor Mercury ordered, already dragging Yuuka's body to the swirl of energy that the crystal had released. Sailor Moon's spell had left each of the Shadow children just as limp and lifeless as Minako, and Pluto directed the others to help Mercury.

"Their energy is bonded to them strongly enough to revive them," Mercury explained, "like a heart crystal will return to its body if it is close enough."

True enough, some of that energy was already trailing through the air to seep back into Haruka as Sailor Neptune unshackled her, and in the thick of that vital miasma Marya was already conscious again, though only barely.

The dazed Shadow host looked up to the electrodes, and to see that they had carried at least some of that energy up and into the haunted house. And with it, flitting black shapes followed suit, leaping from the dark corners Sailor Moon had banished them to, crawling upwards with quick eagerness. "Is... is that enough?"

All eyes look towards the ceiling, and silence rained for that one brief moment, before a crack like God's own thunder shattered the quiet and split the building open. Timber and masonry fell from the hole that opened in the ceiling, and had they not moved Haruka already she would have been crushed as a large wooden box fell with enough weight to smash Marya's apparatus apart.

They all staggered back, coughing through the plaster dust, and Mars was the first to see what it was that had fallen. "The haunted house coffin? It must have been right above you."

Mercury's eyes widened in sudden understanding. "Oh no."

She could not say any more before the coffin's lid burst apart, and in its dusty, smoking remains stood a tall, regal man, swathed in crimson suits and deep, penetrating shadows.

"Ah, better."

None of them could quite believe that they saw, and Sailor Moon watched in awe as the man stepped out of his wrecked coffin. "Um, are you alright, mister..?"

Jupiter recognised him at once. "The mannequin?"

"No," Mercury corrected, already correctly surmising who and what he was. "It was never a fake."

It was Marya's father, a perfectly preserved corpse, given life by the traces of these peoples' energy, and given a will by the nascent Shadows that had possessed them, now no longer suppressed by living human will and free to exert itself.

"Ah, Marya, you have done quite well. I am at least alive."

Marya smiled up weakly, unable to find the strength to get to her feet despite having unwillingly reclaimed so much of her own energy. "Father!"

And then Ono Ryu's dead face twisted as the Shadow warped it, eyes of pitch blackness and a fanged mouth frowning down at her. "But not ideal. You lost so much energy that I *needed*, Marya. Not even nearly ideal."

Marya's face fell in horror as the Shadow man's black, clawed hand reached down for her, and lifted her up to stand at his height. "Still, you can be the first to suffer for that little failing."

"No!" Sailor Moon cried as the man leant forward and bit into Marya's neck. He was only there a few seconds, but it was time enough for Marya to fall limp, hanging from his left hand. The white bat that had escaped in the fight flew up from where it had fallen to swat weakly at the man's face, but he dismissed it with a backhand that sent it crashing into the computers on the worktop, where it fell limp.

Instead of calling for him to stop as the others had done Sailor Saturn took the initiative now the bat had distracted him and stepped forward, bringing her glaive down and slicing into the man's back. It did not even make it past his shoulder blade before he was gone though, vanishing into the air and leaving trailing wisps of blackness as he went.

Even though he had disappeared, he was not afraid to speak. "It is not polite to interrupt a man's meal, but keep her. I am done with her."

They all stood tense, waiting for his sudden reappearance, but it never came.

"Mercury?"

Sailor Mercury answered the call and came to check on Marya's now limp body. "She's alive, but... only just. The bite doesn't seem to be bad, it's more that she has had her energy drained again so soon. I'll find a bandage for her neck."

"And Minako-chan?"

"She'll be fine. She'll need a lot of rest, but she'll recover, like the others."

Pluto turned to Sailor Moon, her voice still serious. "This time we should likely wait for the emergency services. They should already be on the way."

Sailor Moon wanted to say something about how Pluto had known what was going on there, but she was already tired and the least thing she wanted right now was an argument. "Alright."

Sailor Mars took her arm, and Sailor Moon smiled. Mars always knew how to make her feel better. "Come on, Sailor Moon. Tuxedo Kamen-san. Let's find Luna and Artemis."

The cats, it turned out, were just where Minako had said they would be, each in a cat box but both fed and neither the worse for wear.

"Sailor Moon, I was beginning to think you'd never notice we were gone," Luna chastised, but very obviously grateful to be freed.

Artemis was far more worried. "Mina, is Mina okay? This wasn't her fault. I know it wasn't!"

Sailor Moon nodded, in total agreement with him despite her confusion. "She's fine, Artemis. She'll be fine."

000

To Be Continued...

000

Please leave a review with any comments and constructive criticism you may have. They are always greatly appreciated, and there is no better reward for a writer than to hear back from the readers.

(c) Nutzoide 2009-2011


	7. Premonition and Preparation

World Shaking: Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Sailor Moon or anything that comprises it. This is a non-profit story written solely for my own enjoyment and that of anyone who wishes to read it. The story and original characters are mine. Please don't use them without permission.

000

World Shaking

- A Sailor Moon Fan-Fiction by Nutzoide -

Chapter 7: Premonition and Preparation

From Hospital to Home, and Back Again

The police and ambulance services had arrived promptly, given that they had to come from Tokyo proper to reach the theme park. The place had already been evacuated by security after the explosion inside the manor, and within half an hour of arriving the paramedics already had Minako and the other Shadows' victims on stretchers and heading to hospital.

The police had acted far less urgently, but no less efficiently over the situation. While some of the Senshi had gone with the ambulances, the rest remained to answer questions and relate exactly what had happened, as far as they understood it. After three hours of meticulous note-taking the chief inspector in charge - the same Tokuno who had been looking for Mita Lili those months before, he had been woken specially for this - finally let them go, asking only that one of them remained behind to help them explain some of the more bizarre evidence they were finding.

Tokuno was a short, traditional older man, with a sharp mind but more than a few reservation about taking so much help from leotard clad college girls. He was also aware that this case was riddled with means and motives far beyond his sphere of expertise though, and appreciated Sailor Pluto's own brief, concise answers to his questions.

Mercury would have been the candidate to help go over the varied apparatuses, to try and determine exactly how and to what end the dark man had been revived within Ono Ryu's corpse. She travelled with the ambulances though, carefully monitoring the vitals of Haruka and her child, and giving advice to the paramedics regarding their other patients.

The rest of the Senshi either rode with her, or made their own ways home or to the hospital after reclaiming their civilian guises. It had gone midnight now, and there was little more for them to do as Senshi. Even Mercury left to become Mizuno Ami once they had reached the hospital, and handed the reigns of care over to her mother, of all people.

Though it had gone two in the morning now she, Michiru and Hotaru all stayed with Haruka, who was sufficiently calm again to try and sleep.

"Uh, you know, it's already bad enough that I feel stretched from the inside out, but getting my energy siphoned away really hasn't helped balance the scales."

Ami and Michiru smiled at Haruka's return to good, if morbid humour. The woman yawned, still trying to get comfortable in the hospital bed. "How long am I going to have to stay here?"

"Just tonight and the day tomorrow, for observation and a few tests," Ami replied. "It looks like there hasn't been any irreversible damage, but I want to run a few more scans myself and your midwife will want to check everything as well."

Haruka sighed. "And to think I've been poked to within an inch of my life already today. Joy."

"Just settle down and sleep," said Michiru as she leant town to kiss her. "You both need the rest."

"I can't sleep here," Haruka yawned with a sloppy smile. "There's only room for one. We'll get lonely, won't we baby?"

With a tired giggle of her own Hotaru knelt down next to the bed, and put one hand in Haruka's and one on the woman's stomach. "Here. We'll stay with you until you're asleep, okay?"

Haruka huffed, amused that she was getting what she asked for the in the last way she'd intended. "That sounds fair, Hotaru-chan."

It wasn't long before Haruka was in fact asleep, breathing heavily in tandem with her gently snoozing daughter.

In the chairs beside the bed, Michiru's expression had turned bland. "On the way here, Saturn asked me why Minako would have done this."

Ami's gentle, studious expression turned slightly pained. "What did you tell her?"

"I said I didn't know. What on earth had she been thinking, Ami-chan?"

"She wouldn't have wanted to hurt anyone," Ami replied, certain of her words. "Least of all Haruka. We can't know until she wakes up. The least we can do is heard her out, right?"

Michiru nodded, her face still firm, but her voice softer. "Yes. I can do that much."

000

While the others had all slowly left for their beds, for their families' sakes if not their own, Usagi had obstinately refused to leave Minako's bedside, and though he had to work the following morning Mamoru stayed with her. It was a nice show of support, she thought, and she hoped he wouldn't regret it later, when he had to explain to his colleagues why he kept yawning.

Usagi could have no more left Minako than she could any of her friends though. School could wait, and she didn't have children or grandparents who relied on her. Someone needed to be there for sweet, enthusiastic Minako, at least until her parents were called. Waking up in hospital after going though all that would be scary, she was sure. Haruka had been agitated enough, and she had not passed out during her ordeal.

Ami's mother had bags under her eyes as she came to see each of the victims in turn, checking them over and administering an IV and a few shots to each of them. "It's to help get them on the mend," she had explained when Usagi asked what it was all for. "Build their energy levels back up. They need the extra nutrients, and the fluid will help if they remain out for a while."

"You don't know when she'll wake up?" Usagi had asked, concerned.

"Not exactly." Katsura had shaken her head. "Minako-chan seems in better shape than the rest though. She must be a fast healer. Or maybe it's your good influence."

Usagi had smiled. She liked the idea of that.

000

It was 5am before Minako finally began to stir. Usagi had dropped off several times in that chair, but never for long, and hearing her friend's weak groan as she woke brought Usagi back to full wakefulness.

She reached to the bed, and took Minako's hand, the IV needle still nestled in that arm. "Minako-chan?"

The girl groaned again, and clutched her hand while another slowly went up to her head. "Uuuuugh. Did anyone get the number of that tram?"

Usagi burst into happy tears almost immediately. "Mina-chan, you're okay! You're gonna be fine!"

Minako's eye finally opened fully, and they passed across Usagi and Mamoru beside her bed. "I... am, huh? I thought I was a goner."

Usagi nodded vigorously, still beaming through her tears. "You scared me, you idiot! Are you in pain? Do you need me to get medicine or something."

Lacking the energy to sit up, Minako just shook her head where she lay. "No, I'm good. I'm... You, uh, you won, right?"

Usagi didn't have the heart to tell her that the battle might only have just begun. "Yeah. We won, Mina-chan."

Beside her fiancee Mamoru nodded in confirmation. "Your friends are here too. They're being well looked after."

Usagi saw the worry flit across Minako's eyes as clear as day as her friend tried to look only half concerned. "Oh. That's good, I guess. Haruka-kun too?"

"She'll be fine," Mamoru replied. "She's already complaining about the prospect of being stuck in bed for a whole day though, so you'd better watch out."

What Usagi would have done without him to keep up a cheerful face she didn't know.

Minako nodded, letting out a tired sigh. "Yeah. I, uh, could you tell her... that I'm sorry? This was all my fault. I didn't think they'd look for more Senshi."

Usagi shook her head. She didn't want Minako thinking like that. "It's okay, Mina-chan. She's not angry. And your friends are free, and they'll all recover soon too."

To Usagi's concern Minako didn't seem as happy with the prospect as she'd hoped. "What happened to Marya-sempai's father?"

Usagi didn't know how to answer that, and Mamoru's own smile faded when he looked to her for inspiration.

"He... He was never going to come back, Minako-chan." He finally said, when Usagi failed to find the right words. "Your Shadows took his place."

"W-what?"

Usagi felt her heart break when Minako's face fell. "Mina-chan, I'm sorry. He wasn't a man any more. He attacked Ono-san."

"So... so she was wrong. We couldn't have helped after all." A small tear escaped from Minako's eye. "I'm so sorry Usagi-chan. I wanted to try and do something good for someone else. I wanted to make up for letting you down before."

She gave a heavy sniff, and forced a smile onto her face. "But at least you know you were right. I was becoming a liability after all."

Usagi wouldn't hear it, and took Minako's hand more firmly in her own. "What are you saying? You're not good enough to be my friend any more? Haruka-kun and Michiru-chan aren't good enough because *they* made bad decisions? That Mamo-chan isn't good enough because he was taken by the Dark Kingdom? That Hotaru-chan isn't good enough because she was going to be used to waken Pharaoh 90? That Tyra-chan and Koan-chan weren't good enough because they worked for the other side?"

Minako looked as though she could barely believe what she was saying. "Why aren't you angry? I should have known better..."

"Because you're my dear best friend that I want to go and eat ice-cream with as soon as you're better! That's why, idiot Mina-chan!"

Next to her Mamoru shrugged, and gave Minako a helpless look. "There you have it."

Mianko could only sniff again, tears in her eyes. "I love you Usagi-chan."

"We love you too, Mina-chan! So get better!"

Then from the doorway a tired Katsura appeared, holding two separate clipboards that she appeared to be working from. "Honestly, girls, you two are always so loud. My patients need their sleep, and you three look like you do as well! Weren't you going to help Rei-chan with her shrine today, Usagi-chan? You won't be much help if you don't get a few hours rest."

"Yes, Mizuno-sensei." Usagi leaned over and gave Minako a gentle hug. "Get better soon, Mina-chan. We want you back. And go and see Haruka-kun when you're feeling better. She'll want to talk, and I promise she won't be mad, or else!"

000

Tsukino Ikuko emerged from the shrine's kitchen with a tray of bento lunch boxes and three flasks of tea, hopefully just in time to avert a food tantrum for her daughter. Usagi's bottomless stomach had long been a source of both pride and exasperation in her household, because while it was nice to see a healthy, growing daughter eat well, there were limits to the pampering she was willing to give her little glutton.

And even after all that food Usagi had ended up the shortest of her entire social group. Now Kino Makoto, there was a girl who put food to good use. A fraction taller even than the mannish Tenoh Haruka, Makoto had bloomed in a way that Ikuko would never have expected from living alone and fending for herself, even if she was genetically predisposed. Ikuko had wondered at times whether Makoto was wholly Japanese, none of them ever having had the chance to meet her parents.

Ikuko sighed. Such strange girls, both of them. Rei, sitting in the reception room and speaking to the shrine guests, was so much more normal. She had a traditional Japanese beauty to her, lacking her friends' wilder extremes, except perhaps for the temper Usagi had so often gone on about in their teenage years.

And a good temper was healthy for a well rounded girl, Ikuko thought. It kept the men in line, and other women from getting too full of themselves. Not that Rei had turned out to be quite as well rounded as Ikuko thought, but then the friendships those girls had forged had always been very close. It was a shame, really. A girl like Rei could have had any man she wanted, if only she chose to. She was certainly pretty enough, and had a good, keen attitude to her.

But that wasn't her business, she told herself. If the girls had received more guidance from their absent parents, maybe things might have been different. Then again, her own daughter had had her heart set on a man many years her senior since her school days, and hadn't *that* shocked her and her husband half to death!

"Rei-chan, I have some lunch for you." She knelt by the doorway, intending not to intrude on the girl's work. Rei talked like a professional. She would do better working for a woman's magazine than giving advise in that old shrine. But then, it would be a shame for the place to close. It was an old and familiar part of the town, past its time maybe, but too friendly to dismiss as obsolete.

That Rei had customers was proof that it wasn't ready to shut its doors yet.

"Oh, thank you, Tsukino-san," Rei got to her feet and beckoned her in. "Please, I'll take it."

Ikuko did as she was bid, bowing to Rei's guests as she handed the girl her bento and tea. "Sorry to intrude. I trust Usagi is being helpful."

Rei sighed and rolled her eyes. "Yes, she's helpful, Tsukino-san. In her own, constantly yawning way. Thank you for allowing her to come."

"Oh, I didn't. She is her own woman now. But I won't disapprove of her priorities this time." She bowed again and left the shrine maiden to her work, "Excuse me. I had better take this to her, before she fades away to nothing."

Usagi she found at her post in the fortune stall, bundled up in a coat and gloves against the cold, meaning she had to fumble with the fortune and prayer slips on the occasion that someone came to buy one. The rest of the time Ikuko had found her idly failing to sweep the dead leaves from the paths, or just nodding off in her booth.

Just then it was the latter, and Ikuko frowned. Gluttonous and lazy, that was her daughter. How she didn't blow up into a balloon full of sweets she didn't know, but then Usagi's metabolism was one of those true mysteries best left to the Gods.

She set the tray down on the stall and carefully unpacked Usagi's lunch, before proving just where Usagi had got her lung capacity from.

"USAGI-CHAN! IT'S LUNCH TIME!"

Her daughter screamed, bolting upright on her stool before toppling off to land in a heap at the back of the booth.

"Whaaa-? Mum! You scared me half to death and back! What was that for!"

"Sleeping on the job," Ikuko replied, and presenting the picture perfect of a parent lecturing her child. "This is what you get for staying up all night. You're lucky I'm here to make you lunch, or you'd have gone without. Rei-chan wouldn't pander to you like a mother has to."

"I couldn't leave Mianko-chan all alone!" Usagi pouted as she got to her feet, dusting off her long, pink coat. Then she caught sight of the opened lunch box. "Ahh! That looks delicious! You're the best mother in the world! Even if you are loud like a train."

Ikuko almost choked. "Loud like a... And this coming from who exactly?"

But Usagi was already fumbling with her chopsticks.

"Why don't you take off the gloves, silly girl. And stay awake. Rei-chan needs you to make a good impression for the shrine."

Usagi nodded, her face suddenly setting seriously. "Yes Ma'am. Usagi-san is on the job."

"Good. Make sure you are. I'm supposed to be looking after Hino-san, not you."

"You're so cold sometimes."

"Maybe I wouldn't be if you and Mamoru-san visited occasionally. Even Luna got lonely and disappeared for a whole fortnight because you never come over any more. I was so worried I nearly called animal control to see if they'd found her."

Usagi looked suitably admonished after that. As always, one mention of her cat and suddenly she takes responsibility. "Okay. As long as you don't let Dad be mean to Mamo-chan. And its fine, Luna came back eventually."

"Don't worry about your father. Just remember to come and say hello occasionally, sweetie."

Ikuko returned to the shrine feeling better. Sometimes it was good to keep your children in line, even if they weren't children any more. And she missed Usagi, after all. She hadn't thought she would at first - such a loud and irresponsible girl would be hard to miss, surely - but soon enough she had. That had been several years ago, and now even Shingo was looking to move out when he finished at high school the next year. How time flew.

At the back of the shrine she brought the last lunch to the living room, where Grandpa Hino rested. She had brought him through from his room to change the scenery for him, as well as the air, and now he lay in his futon next to the kotatsu, the heated table gently warming his blankets to keep out any chill.

He was awake, but the cold had sapped him of his usual vibrancy and energy, leaving him content to doze though the recent days. An occasional sharp cough escaped him, and he blew his nose loudly into a tissue from the box by his futon.

"Oh, Hino-san. That cough is keeping you up again?"

The old man just smiled from his pillow and shook his head slowly. "No, Iku-chan. I think I'm used to it now."

"Oh, that's no good. Here, I brought you some food. Rice broth. Do you think you could manage some?"

The little man nodded. "You're so thoughtful to an old man, Iku-chan. Gen-chan must have been a lucky boy to catch you."

Ikuko smiled. Even when ill he was still such a character. "Really, Hino-san, you shouldn't flatter like that. Not that I mind. Here, I'll serve you."

"Thank you. My Rei-chan is being a proper host, I hope?"

Ikuko nodded, mixing the rice and soup for him. "She's very professional out there, unlike my daughter. You should be proud, Hino-san."

Grandpa Hino just nodded, and breathed a heavy, warm sigh. "Yes. Too proud, I think. But that's my secret indulgence."

000

As the afternoon had progressed into evening Ikuko had left Rei and her daughter to their work, and beyond the small swell of post-workday visits the shrine quietened down again. Not counting the slow drip feed of young women who came to socialise with their working friends as their own school or work days ended.

By the time Usagi's fiance arrived it was time to close for the night, and only two of their group was missing, neither one being particularly surprising. Ami's mother was not about to let Minako out of the hospital before she was fully recovered, even if she did know the girls' shared secret, and Setsuna would only appear if she felt it necessary. And right now, knowing that Sailor Pluto had been aware of the kidnappings and of Minako's plight, not all the Senshi were sorry for her absence.

Ami had been upset by that fact, disappointed in Pluto's cold heartedness even, but she did hope that the enigmatic woman would accept the invitation they had left her. If there was anyone who could help them plan their actions from now on, and point them in the right direction, it was Sailor Pluto.

She had been stuck at the university for the day, her project tutor eager as always to have the chance to nail her down and go over her notes and her progress. As such she was more than glad for the chance to pamper Haruka when she, Michiru and Hotaru all appeared after collecting Haruka from the hospital. She tried not to make a fuss, but she was grateful to hear that nothing had come of her day's observation but hunger and abject boredom.

"I was reduced to talking to her," Haruka admitted, looking lethargic and dishevelled from a day in bed with nothing but her occasionally energetic baby to keep her occupied. She did smirk as she went on though. "Apparent that's how you get a nurse to pay attention to you. It works quite well."

Soon though, with the shrine closed up and her Grandfather sleeping in the lounge, Rei ushered them into the fire room and closed the sliding doors behind them. Now they could plan in peace, and Ami took her seat between Usagi and Haruka as they all sat beside the warmth of the fire. The two cats sat among them, obviously nervous that they would be put on the spot for information after their own stint in captivity. But not yet.

"So," Rei began, once she had sat herself down in front of the fire. "I tried a reading earlier today. I could see this 'Shadow Beast', but not where it is, or what it might be planning. The visions were... very disorganised. It followed a target, drained it, and vanished. I got no sense of a grand plan, or of any mass destruction. It seemed more like an animal stalking prey than a man."

"But it is still dangerous?" Usagi asked, serious now that the day had turned to business, and not merely day-to-day work.

Rei nodded. "I did see lots of victims. Each one was always alone, and it left them alive, but only barely. And I don't know if they were still human, afterwards."

Mamoru was also an image of professionalism. "Did you recognise any of them?"

Rei nodded. "Lots. A lot that didn't make sense actually. Most of us. Haruna-sensei, Naru-chan, Tomoe-sensei, Petz-san and her sisters." She huffed, and gave them a dull smile. "Even my stupid father, and he's not even in Tokyo now. I don't know if seeing all of them was the fire trying to tell me something, or if the Shadow really will try to take all those people."

Michiru spoke up after Rei had finished. "So the question becomes; how do we track this creature down? If it has no motive, where do we begin?"

Rei returned Michiru's gaze with one that held no more answers than any of them. "You haven't seen anything in your mirror?"

"No. It only shows Ono Ryu himself. He... he preens in my own talisman!"

"I would have liked to think that Minako-chan would be able to shed some light on his motivation," Mamoru put in. "But as I understand it Ono Marya-san's own plans did not involve the Shadows reviving her father in this way at all. She was going to use their sacrificed energy to revive him, along with the drip-feed of energy they had siphoned from the park visitors these last five months - a sizable amount put together. Either she was betrayed by the shadows, or our interfering gave them the opportunity to take the initiative. Either way, the plans Minako-chan might have been privy to are the ones that have been thwarted."

He looked to the two cats. "And likewise for you, I assume."

Artemis nodded, sitting stiffly in Hotaru's lap. "I pieced a few things together while I was there, but nothing about Ono-san's father going renegade. Ono-san intended him to help lead them in their own sort of 'superhero' family. But I am going to talk to Minako, when she gets home. She had one of those Shadows inside her. Maybe it could have given her an idea what would happen in a situation like this."

"And," he added, speaking to them all, "I'd like to do it personally. We'll meet again to discuss it properly afterwards, but I want to talk to her about it myself first."

The others all nodded, if hesitantly in some cases. Artemis seemed relieved by the unanimous assent. "Thanks."

"We can't wait for her though," Ami advised, finally speaking up. "My mother will not let her leave the hospital until the weekend, at the earliest. We should be looking for evidence in the mean time."

"One thing though," Rei said, interrupting. "You've called them 'Shadows'," she said, looking at Mamoru in particular. "I don't think we would be looking for a group. I think all of the Shadows were parts of one single being."

"Which we can use to our advantage." Makoto looked to be thinking hard about the idea. "Trying to track down just one would be a lot easier, and it's only a single trail we would have to pick up." She sighed, frustrated by her personal conclusion. "Except we don't have anywhere to start. No 'M.O.'"

Usagi nodded, shifting inwards with Luna in her lap. "Then we go patrolling, like we used to. We can't wait until he finds another victim. We can at least try looking for strange energy signatures around Tokyo. Maybe we can find him before he even gets started."

It wasn't much of a plan in the end, having them go out in rotating groups each night, but it was better than doing nothing. No-one relished the idea of giving up their evenings or their sleep, but when they, their families and their friends were all potential targets, none of them were willing to turn down Usagi's request.

After they had all gone their separate ways Ami spoke up as Michiru drove them home, Haruka being a rare, uncomfortable passenger. "You were quiet during the meeting. Is anything wrong?"

Haruka shook her head. "I didn't have anything to say. I can't go out and help you, after all. Maybe I'll visit our 'friends' in hospital instead."

"What about Artemis?"

"I'll leave that specific talk for him. But I have to do *something*."

000

That something happened the very next day, and it was with a knot of guilt in her stomach that Minako waved her into her hospital room. Haruka had been finding it awkward, not to say uncomfortable, getting around now, and there she was marching back into the place the day after she had been allowed out.

Minako should have gone and seen her after all.

That said, Haruka had only said a brief goodbye the day before, so Minako wasn't the only one at fault there. After Usagi's urging though, Minako suspected that Haruka had been given a little help in deciding who to visit today, and if she hadn't known Usagi should have been at college she would have gone out to check that the hilariously meddlesome girl wasn't hiding outside.

Instead she sat up as best as her unhelpful arms would allow, and put on a happy face.

"Hi Haruka-kun. I guess you're feeling better if you drove back here already. No hard feelings about getting you kidnapped and all, right?"

Haruka stared at her like she was mad for a second, before laughing and pulling up a chair. "No, heh. No hard feelings, Mina-chan. Michiru and I worked towards our own greater good as well, remember? You were there. The second time was even better, aside from the whole 'backfiring and killing us' part. That sort of sucked."

Minako's smile felt more natural now, and she had to agree. "Yeah, dying's no fun. I've got to stop making a habit out of it. Did you know I was officially dead for all of sixteen seconds this time, according to Ami-chan?"

Thankfully Haruka's more calm amusement seemed genuine. "Only you could make such a morbid topic fun, Mina-chan."

"It's what I'm best at, after all! So you're not mad?"

Haruka's look turned contemplative. "No, I'm not. I was, you can believe that, but I got to watch the fight from that machine. You didn't even try to fight back."

Minako felt her heart fall just a little. "How could I? She's Sailor Moon."

Haruka nodded, clearly understanding that sentiment. Usagi was more than just a companion superhero. She was their princess. "And Ono-san? Who is she?"

That Minako had been trying to work out for herself ever since she had woken in her hospital bed. "She's my... friend. And I respect her, and trust her. She was my sempai. Rei-chan and Ami-san - when they were scanning me before and doing psychic stuff - they said that the Shadow was part of this larger creature; the one that took Marya-sempai's father? So I think that's why we all felt so close. Our new energy was all part of the same whole." At a loss for further details she shrugged and scratched her head. "That's as good as I can explain it."

"Well, sometimes family can be more trouble than its worth," Haruka replied, and Minako thought there was something more there, but Haruka didn't linger on the thought. "They're all awake now though - except Ono-san of course, but she'll be out for at least a week. But Mizuno-sensei will probably let you talk to the rest of them if you want. She didn't mind me asking a few questions before the police come in and drive them all nuts."

"Oh." So Haruka had come to investigate? It was at least good that the rest had started to recover properly. If only her Marya-sempai had not been so eager to give her own energy to her machine when it had tried to return to her, she might not have been left in such a dire state. "What did you ask them?"

"Don't worry," Haruka reassured her. "Just the same stuff we've been bothering you with. Ami is still in there, taking readings and comparing notes with her mother."

Minako couldn't help but giggle a little. "I know! Before I didn't think they were much alike - you know, with Mizuno-sensei being so much more talkative and intense - but they're *exactly* the same when they're both working! Like Doctor, like med student."

"And you think we can trust them to keep our little secret?"

Minako nodded without hesitation. "Yeah. They know how important that is to us. Even cranky old Ryuji-san. They won't tell."

000

Hotaru arrived home from school to find her parents' various studies still going on. Or so she supposed. The house was quiet, seemingly empty, but she knew that the women who had adopted here were there somewhere - they had not mentioned any social events that night, nor was there an apology note and some money so that she could buy herself dinner. Setsuna might have been scarce recently, but the others' evening schedules were not nearly as busy as they had once been.

She announced her return, more out of polite habit than anything else, slipped off her shoes and her school bag, and went to see if Ami had managed to add Haruka to her list of subjects for the day after all. Her Ami-papa's obsession with gathering and mentally digesting data of any kind brought Hotaru's usually restrained sense of amusement to the surface. For her homework seemed not to be a chore, but a pastime. Quite how that was possible Hotaru still hadn't managed to grasp, and Ami would deny it of course, but it didn't make it any less true. Watching her Ami-papa's behaviours in her natural day-to-day habitat was quite funny, though Hotaru kept that to herself. The older girl was also shy about her little compulsion, and Hotaru was good natured enough that there was only so much embarrassment she was willing to inflict on her Ami-papa.

She'd still keep calling her that though. Even Hotaru had to have some cheeky bad habits!

She found the three of them in Haruka and Michiru's bedroom, taking advantage of the largest bed in the house. Haruka lay dead centre, the arc of her stomach exposed thanks to several undone buttons on her shirt, while Ami and Michiru sat either side of her, chatting while Ami stared at the Mercury computer's screen, tapping buttons.

"There you are," Hotaru complained light heartedly. "I thought you were going to do your scanning this morning."

"I did," Ami replied, turning briefly to give her a smile before going back to her machine. "But with so many people involved this time I couldn't pass up the chance to get a proper spread of results. Like any other trauma, not everyone will respond to energy draining in exactly the same way, or will recover uniformly either. Ono-san being a notable case in point."

She smiled again and patted Haruka's bump. "Thankfully our girls have an accelerated recovery rate. Though surprisingly it's not actively *different* to the others that Mother is caring for. It's merely accelerated. Presumably the 'healing' of the drain is also more comprehensive, seeing as being Senshi seems to circumvent the worst effects of *physical* damage, but I can rely on my controls to even out that discrepancy, if it arises."

Haruka looked at her quizzically, rubbing the upper rise of her belly. "You have a control group?"

"Broadly speaking. Several other students volunteered for the more invasive tests I was going to do. And I've been making fortnightly visits to a local maternity group to confirm the results you've been giving me." She spared Haruka a glance. "Don't worry, you're still the star of my research."

Hotaru headed over and sat at the foot of the bed. "Don't they think it's weird that you're scanning them with a 'PDA'?"

Ami shook her head. "No, I have my own medical apparatus. That I do legitimately, in case my tutor want to examine my methods. We *can* measure energy levels and such with modern technology, it's just rather advanced. Setsuna helped acquire that too."

Hotaru sighed at the mention of Setsuna. "I wish she'd come home."

"We all do, Hotaru-chan. But right now she's being Sailor Pluto, and as such I'm hoping she is out there justifying her recent priorities."

"I'm sure she had her reasons," Hotaru replied. It sounded weak, but then Haruka, Michiru and even Ami were the adults. As much as Hotaru felt like an adult, she was intelligent enough to know better, and naive enough to hold their authority above her own despite her intellect and her position among the Senshi.

Michiru didn't look like she wanted to agree, but she did. "Yes. I'm sure she had her reasons. I just wish I knew what they were."

"She knew I was going to run a few tests on energy drain myself," said Ami, putting down her computer for a moment. "And she got us there in time to prevent it impacting your health to any serious degree," she added for Haruka's benefit. "As much as I hate to admit it, foiling Ono-san's plan now has given me a much better insight than the experiments I was intending, and it has put us all in a good position to fight the Shadow. We know what it is, we know who it is possessing, and I was able to collect some data from it while it was there in front of us. If nothing else, that will help us track it down."

It was a sobering thought for all of them, Hotaru especially. "Couldn't we have done that earlier though?"

"Maybe," Haruka replied. "Maybe not. Only Pluto would be able to tell us if that was her reasoning. Maybe all the Shadow fragments needed to be there together, not waiting wherever Marya kept them. Maybe we had to wait until they were channelling the energy to Ono Ryu-san's body. Maybe the Shadow would have escaped without us noticing if we had exorcised it just from Marya right at the beginning. Why doesn't really matter now though. We... *you* have just got to do what you can now."

"It's still *we*, Uranus-chan," Michiru reassured her. "And according to Ami-sensei you're still doing important work right here, and you don't even have to get out of bed in the morning to do it! We all know how you hate that."

Ami shifted over, closer to Hotaru. "See here, Hotaru-chan, this is Haruka's energy signature, and that line there is the baby's. Now watch what happens when we say hello to her."

Ami gave Haruka a sly smile, and gently pressed her thumb over her stomach, hard enough to force Haruka to shift slightly. "Come on, Ami."

On the small screen the two streams of energy lines coiled around, merging together from two directions before seeming to force themselves mostly apart again. "Oh, wow."

"Intriguing, isn't it? It's reflexive, on both sides. Sorry, hon," Ami stroked Haruka's bump again, though Hotaru wasn't sure if she was apologising to the baby or Haruka, or both. "I'm done poking now."

000

Friday was not a quiet day at Matsubashi's noodle shop. Many office workers were more than willing to treat themselves to something more than a sandwich or rice ball at their desks if that was their last day of their week. Likewise those who would have to work late before the weekend, or who would be working through it, would need a quick and filling meal when they found the time.

Seeing as their noodles fulfilled both criteria, Matsubashi was ideally poised to make the most of the regular Friday upturn of business. He had a steady, professional clientele of regulars to add to that as well, spreading word of his little shop, and the quality of their food.

It also helped that for the last few years, barring the terrible 'disappearance incident' of the last year, he'd also had an assistant chef who's sunny demeanour and rather incredible figure behind her snugly tied apron had lifted both his sales and the atmosphere of his shop. Even the most exhausted or dour of businessmen had been persuaded to lift their eyes from their newspapers at the sound of her voice.

Not that she had been as talkative in the last week or so. She put a brave face on whatever she was having trouble with, but those lapses into silence, hushed telephone calls or requests to be let off early were mounting up. And sadly it was affecting business. The customers noticed, and though the more sociable types had occasionally had the gumption to ask her about it, Makoto just looked surprised and smiled. It's nothing, she would say, before getting back to her pan.

If so it was the most distracting 'nothing' Matsubashi had ever seen. He'd wondered whether she was having trouble with her recent juvenile (and supposedly covert) crush on the black haired girl who had been coming to eat more often recently. He'd always assumed that sort of thing was out of their systems after high school. But this 'Rei-chan' had come to visit again, a few days ago, and while she had seemed even more tense than Makoto neither one showed any sign of 'relationship' problems.

At least not the kind Matsubashi understood. Hell, maybe that lack of understanding was why he'd never made it through to marriage in any of his varied romances.

The afternoon was beginning to progress into evening when the inevitable happened, and Makoto apologise to him when her phone began to ring. He nodded, just barely able to suppress a sigh, and took her skillet from her. He could handle both their pans for a moment, but as she answered - out of earshot of the customers but not quite of him - he realised that if she did ask for another early end to her day he would have to say no. It wasn't an attitude he wanted to take, he was a laid back man himself when the shop was quieter, and he wanted to share that lenience he gave himself with his hard working girl. The problem was that she had been working for him long enough now, and improving his customer base, however slowly, that he could no longer run the burners on his own. Though he had never told her as much, her absence when her friends and the Senshi had vanished had forced him to realise just how much his business had swelled since hiring her. Enough that he had lost good customers when he had not been able to keep up with the demand for food on busy evenings.

"Rei, I'm so sorry. But at least you know, right? I mean, you've been asking him to take another look for ages."

Makoto's end of the phone conversation paused. Of course it was her 'girlfriend', but at least Makoto seemed somewhat reassured by this apparent bad news.

"Well, the doc knows you were right now. He'll take care of Grandpa, don't worry."

Another pause. "And you stayed anyway? Since when did you ever listen to Gramps' advice? ... I'm joking, Rei-chan. Joking. ... No. I, uh, I can't. We're getting people in already... I'm sorry, Rei-chan, I would, but... Yeah. You're going to visit him later though, right? I'll see if I can meet you at the hospital. Which one is it?"

Matsubashi breathed a sigh of relief. Makoto was a conscientious young woman, and he felt rather guilty that he had intended to be hard on her if she had wanted another favour.

"Okay. It might be late, but I'll meet you there. Ask Usagi-chan or Ami-chan to come over. I bet they'd be willing to keep you company when they're done with school stuff... Yeah, I love you too. Bye."

With that Makoto shut off her phone and forced a brisk sigh from between her lips. Then she straightened her hair and her apron, and all five feet ten of her marched back to the kitchen burners behind the counter.

"Heh, uh, sorry about that, Matsubashi-san. It won't happen again."

"Problems? You look like you're feeling better"

Makoto shrugged. "Just something that's getting sorted out, finally. Bad news, but at least it should be getting better now."

Matsubashi nodded. "Which hospital?"

"Huh?" Makoto's chopsticks paused in her pan.

"If you can wash up while I close tonight, I'll drive you there. Which hospital is it?"

The first genuinely happy smile of the afternoon graced Makoto's face. "Matsubashi-san! Thank you!"

"Just don't forget about those noodles."

000

Haruka woke on Saturday morning to find her bed empty, and the clock reading a quarter to eleven in bright, condescending digits. The curtains in the room she shared with Michiru were still closed, and it was with great effort that she hauled herself from beneath the nice warm sheets. She was glad of the chance to lie in - she was glad of any excuse for a little physical indulgence really - now that her daughter was becoming more active.

She could feel it already as she straightened up, and she sucked a breath in through her teeth, rubbing the right side of her belly. "What, you're staying up all night already? You're not even born yet."

Either the baby had started to mark her favourite kicking spot or Haruka had ended up sleeping on her hand, or something equally stupid, because that was sore. At least she had managed to sleep through the assault if it was her daughter's fault. Next time she might well not be so lucky.

She dressed slowly and wandered out into the house to see if anyone else was around. "Michiru? Ami?"

From within the living room Michiru appeared, choosing to come and talk instead of calling back. "Good morning, sleeping beauty. Someone sent you a get well soon card." A knowing smile played across her lips, and Haruka's couldn't help but return that crafty little look.

"You could have woken me, you know. It's late. Though our little girl feels as though she tried hard enough for the both of you."

Michiru glided over and gave her a gentle kiss on the cheek. "Feeling fragile?" She stroked Haruka's back, the comforting contact persuading Haruka into the room. "Sit down and read your card. I'll make you something to eat."

Michiru had always been very affectionate, with little touches and subtle looks, but this new child had brought that caring attention to the surface, and Haruka liked it. She didn't really do it so much when Ami or Hotaru were around, but when alone Michiru seemed eager to dote in her own mature, understated way.

Haruka took her seat willingly in front of the coffee table, and with a huge stretch forwards she slid the card from it. Between them the other girls had obviously conspired to open it, and the image on the front was of a cartoon character in biker leathers laid out on a hospital bed, its leg in a raised cast. The biker looked none too pleased by it, but the nurses all looked amused at his annoyance.

Inside the message was simple, and written in a slightly scruffy hand.

'I saw what happened on TV, and then they announced that you had been found there. I was shocked. Are you okay? The baby? I hope you are recovering by the time you get this. If it isn't a bother, could you mail me when you are feeling better? I am worried for my big sister.

'See you again sometime?

'Tenoh Maki

Haruka sighed and leaned back into the settee. Big sister, huh? It was odd being called that.

"She seems to be a nice girl," Michiru commended from the kitchen partition. "Maybe you should introduce us?"

Haruka chuckled. "That would put the fear of God into her. It looks like Tenoh Haruka now has 'youma kidnap victim' on her public profile though. That's going to be a pain."

"You're a big girl," Michiru replied. "You'll live. And if they play that tune then they'll soon change it when they see you out and about next. You don't *look* like a victim of any sort."

"Mmm." That was nice to hear, at least. "Michiru? You remember that Kasaraha guy?"

Her girlfriend's tone turned dry. "How could I forget?"

How indeed? Haruka really wished she had handled her last encounter with him better. Those hysterics would be a permanent black mark against her image, if only in her own mind. "I could give him his interview. I think he's bugged Ami about it once already. Maybe now's as good a time as any to re-assert myself."

"With him?"

Michiru didn't sound convinced, but Haruka couldn't think of anyone better. "He wants something for his gossip mag. All personal details, no politics."

"And what about Ami-chan? You know he'll bring that to the table. Tenoh Maki-san as well."

"They already know our line for Ami. I'll just reiterate it. And if Maki-san really want to be related to me, *someone* will pick up on it. Might as well tell it like it is. Put a good angle on it."

Michiru looked thoughtful as she buttered the toast that had just risen. "And your parents? She's still living with them."

"...Yeah. I'll ask her about that." Haruka lifted herself from the settee and went to find her mobile phone, and Maki's number. She had wanted to be mailed after all. "By the way, where did Ami and Hotaru disappear to?"

Michiru just smiled, clearly amused. "Ami-papa is taking our girl shopping."

000

In truth Ami had been intending to indulge Hotaru's desire to have more time together for a while now. While they now lived under the same roof one or other of them was usually out all day during the weeks, and their evenings were filled with homework or research as often as not. When they weren't some combination of Haruka, Michiru and Setsuna was there with them for the evening. It made talking personally a little more difficult, and Hotaru wasn't the only one who was a little sheepish about speaking her mind.

In all honesty, Ami found Hotaru's affection for their new relationship just a little unbalancing. The girl was now - for all intents and purposes, and setting aside her magically enhanced aging - sixteen years old, as best as they could ascertain. Going from being a casual friend to being treated like a parent was a little unnerving, to say the least, and the thing was Hotaru *was* treating her like a parent already. If anything she was almost going too far, and going out of her way to give her the authority that she clearly accepted from Haruka, Michiru and Setsuna.

It was something Ami was slowly coming to terms with, and she was glad that Hotaru was eager to welcome her into the family so wholeheartedly. But, while she was happy to try and live up to the role of Ami-papa for the girl, she also wanted to become her friend again, and not just a prospective parent.

That was the reason for the trip really. It was a good excuse to patrol around the city for the day and make the most efficient use of their time, but Ami wanted to show that they could still be of a similar mind.

It also helped that while Hotaru's growth had returned to a far more normal level, she still needed new clothes more frequently than anyone else she knew, and not because she just wanted to expand her wardrobe.

"I don't know, you don't think it's too bright?"

From her own changing cubicle Ami allowed herself an amused smiled. "I don't think so. Let's have a look."

She poked her head out from behind the curtain, and after a long pause Hotaru appeared from the cubicle next to her. The red blouse *was* far brighter than Hotaru tended to wear, but that wasn't hard given how over half her wardrobe was made up of black. The girl wasn't at all gothic inclined, but for some reason she chose a lot of darker clothes.

Hotaru looked unconvinced though. She gave a timid twirl, her arms stiff.

"It looks great," Ami enthused, and she meant it. It wasn't a particularly simple garment, with carefully unobtrusive lace around the collar, buttons and cuffs and faux mother of pearl buttons, and the vibrant red colour highlighted those features well.

"Isn't it a little flashy for me?"

"No more so than your black dancing dress."

Hotaru nodded. "I suppose. But I don't really wear that out."

"No, but you do pick it for special occasions at home. And you wear those three sundresses all the time during summer. I've never heard you worrying that they're too bright."

Hotaru looked back to the mirror inside the cubicle. "You really think it looks good on me?"

Ami nodded. "Red looks good on you. It would look even better with a complementary skirt."

"Yeah," Hotaru admitted, looking at her current one. "It sort of clashes. What about you, Ami-san?"

No Ami-papa in public, at least not for now. It felt almost normal, but after hearing it so much over the last few months she wasn't sure any more. She left her bag on the bench at the back of the cubicle, and stepped out. She had decided that she needed some more warm weather clothes, as her old ones were *very* old now, and these days she had more incentive to make a good impression. She had blushed to her roots when Haruka had pointed out a hole in one of her cuffs.

It was large on her, and she had rolled up the cuffs on this one, so that she could cut them down when they inevitable became the first parts to wear. She might have said it was predominantly beige, but that would have been a lie. It was shot across with green and yellow zig-zags, and was both as warm as it looked and obscenely comfortable.

And it wasn't something that had a chance against the fashion sense of any one of her friends, Hotaru included.

"Um... Ami-san? That's for wearing around the house, right?"

Ami just grinned. "Do you think Michiru-san would let me?"

Hotaru stifled a laugh and tried to look stern. "She would. And she wouldn't let you leave with it on."

"Mako-chan would have."

"Really?"

"Mm-hmm. This is a slumber party pullover. Or a 'curl up alone at home with the TV remote' pullover. Plus she used to take what she could get sometimes, trying to find clothes in her size."

"But those criteria don't involve her wearing it out. And it's not bright enough! It's beige."

"Touche. You know, I think Rei-chan has been giving you fashion tips, hasn't she?"

Hotaru blinked in surprise. "What? Um, maybe we talked about it once?"

"Good. She has good taste."

"You're teasing me!" Hotaru pouted.

Ami couldn't deny it. "Maybe a little. Why don't you find a jacket to go with that blouse, and I'll send my last e-mail."

Hotaru nodded, understanding what she meant. That was their little phrase for Ami to make another trace energy check. Her Mercury computer could scan the surrounding block well enough even from inside the store, and that would be enough for now. Anything more intensive would have to wait until her next night patrol, or else she would be mistaken for some kind of ghostbuster.

"Oh, Ami-san? The green jumper looked better."

Ami shook her head. She should have expected that.

000

The day was not actually a cold one, if only in comparison to the previous few weeks, and it was that comparative mildness that drove so many people into the city to shop or just get out of their homes. Well wrapped families and coupled flocked to the local parks to make the most of a reasonable day before the cold returned. The weather reports had threatened more snow, and this time it was likely to settle properly.

Had anyone looked up to the buildings around them they might have noticed the flitting of an odd shadow, not cast by the sun on the buildings or architecture around it, but even if they had it would have been gone again a moment later, melting into nothingness, just a figment of their imagination.

Souichi looked up a lot more than he used to these days, though he did not see the phantom above. When he looked up it was to see the sky, and not the buildings that scraped at it. The billowing of the clouds and the countless stars stirred something deep and intellectual within him; a sense of dynamic wonder. He wanted to reach out to such things and touch them. To examine them, and understand why they thrilled him so.

He had been a scientist, once upon a time. Or so he had been told. That might have been why his fascination with those ephemeral things, so far beyond his reach, had such clear and precise power behind it. He wanted to study.

A moral shiver ran through him, and he returned his eyes to the people around him. No, no matter how motivated he might be, for some reason he knew he shouldn't study any more. His experiments were what had caused his fall from grace, if his doctors and the old newspaper archives were to be believed. They were why he was alone, without a woman who he had once loved enough to marry. Even his daughter had been taken from him, to be raised by those who were still capable of doing so.

He looked at the watch on his wrist, and had to brush a stray silver hair away from his large, round spectacles. His time was up. He had enjoyed his day out, seeing the city and meeting so many people, but he was supposed to be back at his apartment by six o' clock, or else the care worker who visited him every Tuesday and Friday evening would worry.

She was such a nice girl, that Rika. She would come and talk with him, and they would reminisce about whatever they wanted. She remembered back before the incident at Mugen High, and she could tell him about the people and places he should have known. She would bring him a newspaper, and they would read it together to learn about what was going on in Tokyo, Japan, and the world outside their home islands. She was only a volunteer for the carers, but she was so pleasant and such willing company he might never have known it.

Yes, he had better get home, before she came to visit an empty flat. He really ought to clear away his lunchtime rubbish as well.

It was as he took his first step that he realised that, in all his analytical wonderings as he had gazed around, he had failed to see the man who stood right in front of him.

"O-oh," Souichi stuttered as she stopped suddenly, mid-step. "I'm sorry, sir. I didn't see you for a moment."

The well dressed man smiled at him with wide, charismatic lips. "Please, Tomoe-sensei; Professor. The fault is mine."

The sound of his own name brought Souichi up short. He hadn't been called 'Professor' in years. Not since before... He couldn't remember.

"No, I doubt you would remember, Professor, but an associate of mine once worked with an associate of yours. But that is in the past, Professor."

This strange man in the black suit kept using that word! Professor, professor, PROFESSOR! That was what... she had used.

And after five years he could finally remember her name. Not even the name of his late wife, but of the woman who had worked beside him afterwards, during... darker times.

"Kaori..."

In a flash the smartly dressed man raised his hand, and a flicker of darkness leapt from his fingers, and into Tomoe Souichi's chest.

"Your daughter, Professor, you put so much time and effort into her, didn't you? You saved her life, and she rewarded you by turning her back, didn't she, Professor? She ruined your plans, and stole your memories."

Tomoe Souichi would have disputed that, had he been able. But it was not his human will that had joined with the shadow. It was the broken, bitter memories of the Daimon that he had been, while Kaorinite and the Witches 5 had been his followers.

"Yes," he breathed, "I gave her Mistress 9, to save her. She was pivotal to us, and yet I still allowed her every freedom."

"And she let you down. Just as I gave my daughter everything, and yet *she* let *me* down. We should work together, you and I, Professor. As responsible adults, we should correct our failures, and strive for better."

The Professor, fuelled only by mad memories and grief, stood tall and straight. His spectacles glinted, reflecting the light of the sun even as a tangible darkness crawled up from within his chest to swathe his face in shadow. "Yes, my friend. Successful results. That would be for the best. "

And a small chuckle escaped him as he and the Shadow that Ono Ryu had become strode away. "Heh heh heh heh. Hehehehehehehehehe!"

000

Haruka shifted in her chair, still unable to get comfortable. The soreness in her abdomen had not abated as the day had gone on, even though her little girl seemed to be behaving herself. She'd only attacked that tender area once, but that had been enough to have Haruka seeing stars.

Which was a shame, considering how well the rest of the day had gone. Maki had been more than willing for her to set up the interview, as long as Haruka tried not to make too much of a fuss about it if Karasuro asked about her. Likewise the journalist himself was more than eager to set up the interview as soon as possible, so the pair had met that afternoon at a coffee shop in town. He'd found it amusing how she had only ordered water and a piece of fruit cake, until she had pointed out that the caffeine wouldn't have done her any good right now!

There was no time like the present to get these things out of the way. With the other girls all patrolling or otherwise looking into the Shadow, and the police having come down on the ex shadow children like a ton of bricks at the hospital, Haruka needed something to do to avoid feeling left out. Maybe in a week or so, once the interview article had come and gone, she'd give Maki a proper call.

As long as she was in better shape, that is. Just getting into town had been a trial, and though she'd had no problems earlier trying to eat dinner had been an exercise in frustration. She was hungry, but just didn't feel as though she could stomach a proper meal. A salad would have been better, she'd managed some of that, but the rest of her meal sat wrapped in cling film, awaiting the reappearance of her appetite. And both Ami and Michiru were quite strict about her eating more than just green leaves these days.

She sighed, putting a hand over the sore spot in her stomach before getting changed for the night. Maybe a decent night's sleep would help, as long as her little girl felt the same way.

She'd have to run her idea past Ami and Michiru later. She didn't want to keep calling her just 'the baby', and she'd thought of a name she liked the sound of.

The thought vanished suddenly, and she froze as soon as she had removed her underwear. A small red fleck stood out in the white cotton, sending a surge of nausea through her. What the hell..?

She stared at the small, bloody stain for a moment, forcing her breathing back under control, and setting her face straight. She had the presence of mind to grab her robe before she marched back out of the room.

"Ami, can I have a word?"

No sense giving Michiru or Hotaru reason to panic just yet, she'd decided. Not until *I* do, anyway.

The pair of them did turn at her unsteady voice, but Ami was beside her in no time, and Haruka led her just out of earshot.

"Haruka? What is it?"

"I think something's wrong." Haruka took her into her room, to the underwear left strewn on the bed.

Ami looked shocked only for a moment before her professional face covered her surprise. "Okay, lie down and I'll have a look."

The younger woman could be very authoritative when she wanted to be, and this was one of those times. Haruka did as she was told, glad Ami had not looked too alarmed. It eased her own clawing worries.

Just as she did before each examination Ami took her transformation pen to allow her access to her Mercury computer, which appeared in her hands from behind a ribbon of pale blue magic.

But she remained quiet as she scanned. Usually one or other of them would make conversation as one of their tests started, either to help Haruka relax or to alleviate her boredom, before Ami fell into the studies too deeply. This time there was none of that. Just tense silence. It only lasted thirty second or so, but that was a long time for Haruka, aware of each and every second as it passed by.

"Okay," Ami finally said, closing the lid of the palm top machine and letting it disappear back to wherever it belonged. "Let's put some clothes back on. It's not too serious, but I have to get you back to hospital for monitoring and bed rest."

"Shit," Haruka swore. "Is she okay?"

Ami nodded. "Baby's fine for now. No distress, but she's the one who needs monitoring, just in case. And you may need to get some extra nutrition. Mainly, we need to make sure the condition doesn't get any worse. That means bed rest."

Haruka groaned and got back to her feet, grabbing her clothes. "This is because I didn't eat dinner?"

"No, Haruka. Now come on, Mother will kill me if I don't get you there as soon as possible, as will anyone else who diagnoses you. And they'll have to do so the normal way I'm afraid. Now get dressed, I'll have Michiru drive us there."

Haruka frowned. They had a course of action, but for what. "Wait, Ami. What are we actually talking about here? This is because of what the Shadows did to me, right?"

"I don't know. But that's probably it. I'll need to spend more time looking at the data."

From the doorway Michiru and Hotaru appeared, either drawn by curiosity or the sound of Haruka's swearing.

"Ami-chan, what's going on?" Michiru asked.

Haruka watched as Ami sighed, now forced to spell it out.

"Haruka has suffered a minor placental abruption. Probably a reaction to the scale of energy drain she endured. It doesn't look too serious, but if you could drive us to the hospital?"

"Of course."

As Michiru dashed off Hotaru looked in, still worried. "Why is Haruka-papa going to hospital if it isn't serious?"

Haruka answered this one for Ami. "Because it *could* get worse, and I'd rather we stopped that happening, right?"

Ami nodded, before explaining. "You know how the placenta is designed to detach from the womb and come out after the baby is born?" Clearly Hotaru did, so she carried on. "Basically a small edge of Haruka-papa's has already come loose. At the hospital we need to make sure that's not going to happen any more, and that it doesn't keep bleeding."

Damn, Haruka thought. That didn't sound 'not serious' to her. But then she wasn't the medical student.

"And if it doesn't?"

Ami leaned down to give the girl a hug. "Then we have to look after them. But as long as we do, it won't come to that."

"I'm coming too," Hotaru announced, looking straight into Ami's eyes as she let the girl go, and then Haruka's.

"Sure," Haruka agreed as she finished dressing, "not that there'll be anything to see. Now let's go."

Before I lose my cool, she thought as she followed Hotaru out. I'm glad you're confident Ami, because that only makes one of us.

000

To Be Continued...

000

Please leave a review with any comments and constructive criticism you may have. They are always greatly appreciated, and there is no better reward for a writer than to hear back from the readers.

(c) Nutzoide 2009-2011


	8. The Weight of the World

World Shaking: Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Sailor Moon or anything that comprises it. This is a non-profit story written solely for my own enjoyment and that of anyone who wishes to read it. The story and original characters are mine. Please don't use them without permission.

000

World Shaking

- A Sailor Moon Fan-Fiction by Nutzoide -

Chapter 8: The Weight of the World.

Is It True That Girls Have Small Shoulders?

It was with more than a little frustration that Haruka found herself in the same hospital bed she had occupied only a few days before, eating what passed for a 'nutritionally balanced' lunch. The worries of the night before had been cut away by the serious, mechanical way she had been examined - and rather too invasively for her liking - in order to corroborate Ami's diagnosis.

And corroborate it they did. She was to suffer bed rest and observations for another few days at least to make sure that the bleeding stopped properly and that there were no signs of the abruption worsening, or anything that might prompt such a thing.

For all the fuss she made about it, the bed rest wasn't actually that bad a proposition. Haruka had long since given up trying to be physically active, and the prospect of a good comfy chair became more and more appealing after going anywhere. She might be driven mad with boredom, and with the effort of getting herself upright each time she needed to go down the hall to the ladies room, but the excuse not to drive herself to be somewhere else and get on with things was guiltily welcome.

Not that she would nearly admit as much. Especially not when she had just given an interview on how things were going so well, and that she had already got over her abduction at the now closed Midnight Garden. When the gossip press got wind of this they would be champing at the bit to print *something* suspect following Karasuro-san's article.

She let herself yawn and finished her overly processed lunch. Her battery of tests had lasted well into the night, once they had woken her midwife and dragged the poor woman in to help out. Haruka didn't really like her, but no-one needed to be called back into work at 11pm to deal with a potential emergency.

Not that said potential had been fulfilled. As Ami had reassured her, neither she or the baby were in any real danger as long as the condition didn't worsen. That was also more than incentive enough for Haruka to accept her bed rest. She wasn't about to do anything that might cause problems for Miranda.

That was the name she had decided on for her daughter. Miranda. Its relation to her position of Sailor Uranus was only incidental, and she'd been amused when she had looked into the name to make sure it didn't mean anything unfortunate in its native English tongue. She had originally considered it when thinking on names from the theatre, and remembered the sole female role in Shakespeare's tempest. Her own English had been pretty poor when she had attended the play, but the name was pretty and fitted the naive, honest girl, who should have been capable of great things if only she'd had her freedom. And it could be easily spelt with Kanji without mangling the sound of it at all, which was why she'd liked it to begin with.

"How are you feeling, Haruka-chan?"

Haruka's head shot up to find that she had a visitor. Either she had been too lost in her own thoughts to notice, or Setsuna had not bothered to use the door to enter her room.

"Where have *you* been?" It was all Haruka could think to ask, being startled so suddenly.

"Here and there." Setsuna's face remained friendly, but not happy or content. "Looking for our shadowy new friend. Checking in on you. I've been a little too busy to come home."

"Couldn't you at least have turned up to the last meeting? The girls have been wondering what could have been worth your silence. I have too."

Setsuna shook her head. "This isn't a business visit, Haruka-chan. It's better that you don't know why one evil is preferable to the other. I'm just here to see you."

"Then you'll have to put up with me asking. What evil could have been worth putting Minako or myself through that?"

When Setsuna didn't reply, Haruka pushed. "What, Pluto? What *could* have been worse for us than that?"

Setsuna's answer was simple. "Us. Venus is a strong girl. She will recover, and she will grow from this unfortunate experience. Who would have offered the rest of us the same escape after blinding us with gilded servitude?"

"The Shadows would have taken us instead? All of us?"

Setsuna shook her head. "Not all, but enough to make the fight leave its scars on us all." She let out a sigh, and forced her smile back onto her face. "So, how *are* you feeling?"

"Better now. Still a bit sore. And I'm definitely feeling fat. Thanks for asking."

Finally satisfied, Setsuna's smile grew less tight. "Good. She'll thank you for it."

Then to Haruka's surprise she turned to leave, Sailor Pluto's garnet topped staff in her hand as if by magic. "Hey, Setsuna? Can't you stick around and chat for a bit?"

"I would, but you have a visitor."

The Gates of Time filled Haruka's vision for a moment as Setsuna stepped through them, but no sooner had they closed behind her and vanished than there was a knock at the far more ordinary wooden door to the room.

"Uh, come in?"

A blonde head poked in, followed by the rest of Minako. "Uh, hi. I heard you decided to pop back for a bit, so I thought I'd come and visit, before they let me out of here."

"Oh, they're trading us, are they?"

Minako smiled. "Yep, giving us the swap. Personally, I think I'm getting the better end of the bargain though," she said, looking at Haruka's empty lunch tray, "but hey, maybe I can get Mako-chan to smuggle you in something good."

000

The evening in the Aino household was a subdued one that day. Usually all three of them had something to say, be it Yokozuki's complaints about his work, Kikon's neighbourhood gossip or Minako's latest update on life, love and semi-stardom.

This time though, her parents were just glad to have her back, and said so in as many words. Beyond that the dinner passed between them with little more than Yokozuki's complements on his wife's cooking. The two of them had been less... vibrant, was the work Minako would have used, since the whole Seiji incident, and the same softening of their arguments and explanations seemed to hit now that she was out of the hospital.

They didn't know she had been one of the Shadow children, of course. The details on the news were all about the victims, with the blame laid squarely at the feet of 'supernatural' forces, and supposedly only the Sailor Senshi could really understand those. Instead she had simply been caught up in the incident, as had all the other kidnapping victims. Even Marya was absolved of any wrongdoing, most likely for the sake of her company's face than any real understanding or sympathy on the police's part.

Often Minako would have given her eyes, teeth and other metaphorical body parts for the chance to blurt out what she had really been doing on those late nights out. This time, however, she was grateful for the chance to keep it inside. Running around pretending to be one with the shadows while out cat burgling or helping abduct worthy people was definitely not a high point of her career as a superhero. At best getting caught up in something with the Senshi again might help Aino Minako's stage and screen career, but she hadn't spoken to her agent yet. They had a meeting that week to discuss her next job, since the curtain had fallen indefinitely at the Midnight Garden.

The quiet was unnerving though. After the relieved hugs and 'welcome homes' it seemed far too depressing for lively people like them. "I thought I'd go out tomorrow night," she said, making sure to keep her cheer in her voice. "We were all supposed to be helping Mako-chan out with her studies, but what with being laid up and all I haven't gone over recently."

Her mother looked at her with a pang of worry, but she did at least seem relieved to hear her sounding more liker her old self. "Oh, are you sure you want to be going out so soon? You only just came home. And Artemis followed you back, too."

"Oh, he can laze around the house for the both of us! But Rei-chan's been filling in for me - not that she'd refuse Mako-chan's company these days - but I heard that her Grandpa got admitted to hospital and everything, so I aught to repay the favour, don't you think?"

"Yes, we're sorry to hear about Hino-sensei." Her father bowed his head slightly as he sipped at his soup. "We should go and visit him one evening."

Minako blinked in surprise. "Really?"

Her father nodded, his face as set as ever. "He is a good host. And we shouldn't leave the Tsukino's to do all the visiting."

"Jeez, this social club of yours is all kinds of connected, huh? Anyway, it's alright if I go and see Mako-chan?"

Her father gave her a slightly puzzled look. "You haven't felt the need to ask permission for the last few years. Has something changed that we should know about?"

"Huh? What? No, no, of course not," Minako babbled, stacking her plate and bowl out of the way. "It's just polite, isn't it? That's, uh, my post-crisis resolution. Politeness."

As if to emphasise the fact she bowed low at the table before rising. "Thank you for the food. Now I'd better go and feed Artemis."

Yokozuki and Kikon just shared a look as she left, wondering how much of what they suspected about Minako's ordeal and her sudden meet up with her friend tomorrow might be true.

The answer, unbeknownst to them, was a quite a lot.

000

Artemis accepted his bowl with more restraint than usual, but it wasn't through any reluctance on his part. Surprise was part of it. Minako rarely brought his food in for him like this any more, and she certainly hadn't sat to pet him while he ate in years. He wasn't complaining, it was very nice to feel so doted upon, but it did make him wonder what was going through her mind.

Minako, for all her obvious concerns, had remained chipper and amenable all day. Life seemed to be going on as it always had, and that was something that he wanted to encourage. Second guessing herself wouldn't do her any good, and while he hoped that she felt comfortable enough to share any worries she had with him, he knew that she had the other Senshi to lend her an understanding ear. He was an advisor more than a confidant really, and as the Senshi had grown up their need for advisors had lessened.

Which made the questions he wanted to ask taste bitter. If she was content to accept that she had done what she thought was right, and that no-one blamed her for her actions under he Shadow's influence, then dredging all that up again was a large price to pay for the slim chance to unearth something important about their new foe. A big price in his book at least. Luna didn't see things quite his way, but then she had never been shy to grill Usagi on anything and everything that she thought necessary.

Still, Luna was right. Minako was made of strong stuff.

"Minako-chan, if you don't mind me asking, about the Shadow; Did you talk to it?"

Minako did pause in stroking him, sitting on the floor against her bed. "Huh? Talk to it?"

"Yeah. It was a thought Luna and I had. Did it talk to you? It had a lot to say once it had possessed Ono Ryu-san, apparently."

"Humm. If it was talking, it didn't use words. It didn't give us instructions on its grand plan, if that's what you mean."

Artemis had to smile at the plain honesty in her voice. "I guess that was too much to hope for. But you never got the feeling that it was alive?"

Minako paused in her soft, repetitious stroking. "... I did, but I thought I was imagining it. None of the others felt that way. Even Marya-sempai. But it wasn't like I thought it wanted anything. It was more like the feeling you get when we become Senshi. Confidence, power, adrenaline. It was familiar like that, but more... personal. It liked being with the others, I think. It might have known they were all supposed to be together, and keeping *us* together was the best it could manage."

Informative, but not the answer Artemis had been hoping for. "But no intentions? No strange ideas coming to you?"

"Besides stealing and kidnapping?" Minako quipped, a little darkly. "No. They were Marya-sempai's idea. The plans came from her. I guess I can't speak for the others, but I just wanted to help her. If anything was strange, it was how loyal I felt. I still do - I mean they're my friends and co-workers - but still can't believe I helped abduct people for the recruitment drive."

Artemis nodded and took another mouthful of the jellied meat. "Well, that might be useful in itself," he said with he mouth full. "Except the 'family' lead sort of falls apart since the first thing he did was attack his own daughter. Still, worth keeping in mind when you face him again."

"Yeah. I have been thinking about it, Artemis. If I can remember anything, I let you all know. I just can't think of anything that would be useful. It's so annoying!"

"I know, don't worry about it." He stepped away from the bowl and leaned into her hand. "You're still up for a patrol with Mako-chan tomorrow?"

"You bet. It'll be good to be out there again, to remind me of the kind of person I'm supposed to be."

"I think just being you is enough, Minako. It always has been."

"Heehee, sweet talker. Are those the lines you use on Luna?"

"Are you kidding? If I tried anything like that I'd get a claw across my nose. She does *not* take flirting well. I'll melt her eventually, and we'll have a pretty grey kitten to bring up, but until then I'm playing it safe. I want to be a father without having to suffer courtship scars!"

000

In ward 3.44, past the rotating plain clothed police guard and under the electronic gaze of a state of the art state of the art surveillance system, Ono Marya slept the night away.

She had not so much twitched an eyelid since she and her Shadow victims had been rushed into the hospital, and that night was no different. Her pale, strong face remained stoic, her arms strapped to her sides for reasons that only the most senior of police and the Sailor Senshi knew.

She had still been a villain as her dead father had felled her. A villain who had seen then her folly, perhaps, but an enemy of the Senshi none the less. Maybe she could be saved, or maybe she had already reclaimed her humanity in her last few moments of consciousness, but she was still an unknown quantity, and even Sailor Moon had agreed that caution was needed. At least until she woke up, and they could speak to her.

But she did not show any sign of waking. She was the very first victim of an energy drain who had not recovered, or died, from the trauma, both in Mizuno Katsura's and Sailor Mercury's experience.

She had received many visitors, from Katsura-sensei and the Senshi to the police, eager for answers and a recovery estimate, to the people she had kidnapped or lured away and called family. Their unnatural affection for her and for each other still lingered, but she was unable to hear the well wishing or the conflicted reproach in their words.

The drip at her bedside kept her nourished, but after more than a week in a coma she had remained pale, and grown too lean for her tall, strong frame.

A patch of gauze covered the eye that had been pierced by the shrapnel of her destroyed Shard, concealing the sliver of green crystal that remained embedded in the back of her eye socket. The doctors had tried to remove it, but the attempt had caused her vitals to dive with such suddenness that they had abandoned the idea entirely until her condition improved. If there was a trace of energy left in the thing, that might have been all that was keeping her going.

Until then Marya still did not stir, and did not dream. She didn't hear the exasperation of Detective Tokuno, the soft reassurance of recovery from a hopeful Aino Minako, or feel the freezing winter air that flowed across her when her room window opened that night.

Only it wasn't opened from the inside. A black, shape flowed in from the window ledge to stand upright as a man, and stepped forward into sight of the hidden camera taped underneath the room's utilitarian dresser.

It never saw a thing.

The form's shining black shoes tapped soft and clean against the white flooring, and from the pockets of an immaculate black suit appeared strong, well manicured hands. The hands of a man used to dealing in meticulous details, and wanting his appearance to reflect such.

Crouched at the windowsill was the hunched form of Professor Tomoe Souichi, but he merely watched with a broad rictus grin upon his shadowed lips. His enjoyment was vicarious. Tonight it was Ono Ryo who would deal with family matters.

"A lesser man would have cast you aside more roughly, my dearest child. How you survived I do not know, but I will not begrudge you such tenacity. I speaks well of you, as it does of me. But you led those who would have killed me into your home, and brought me together in such a state that I had to flee, rather than deal with you and your enemies properly. You did worse than fail. A failure in your plans could have been salvaged. But there are no second chances for me since you succeeded so incompetently. I must work with what little power I have, and I have *you* to thank for that.

"So, there will be no second chances for you, daughter. If I am your play's 'Dracul', then I shall finish your life, and call you my Vampiru!"

So saying Ono Ryu took Mayra's shoulders in his hands, and sunk his teeth into her neck once more. This time there would be no life left in her flesh, of that he would be sure.

And in keeping with his word, he would not let her die so easily. A black miasma swelled from his hands as he released her, and it crawled across Marya's hospital gown to sink into her skin.

"Consider it a 'gift'," Ryu said, a very professional contempt dropping from his tongue. "I will not keep that part after you sullied it. To think, you would give a piece of me to a *bat*."

He reached into his suit pocket again, and this time tossed Vesper's small, lifeless form onto the bed.

"I trust you will have thought about your failings by the time we meet again."

Then he turned and headed back to the window.

Souichi stepped aside, still crouched there, to let him pass. "So, you would like to be addressed as 'Dracul', then? Heh heh, an interesting choice, very interesting indeed."

"Yes, Berserk. The Ono line died here tonight. Their names have no more meaning."

000

Usagi received the call from Haruka at 8am, and within the hour both she and Mamoru had arrived at the hospital, having made their excuses with work or school colleagues. It might not have prompted such urgency if it had not come to her Senshi communicator - all of their communicators - instead of via cell phone, but either way the news was alarming.

Ono Marya had vanished during the night.

Rei and Makoto were already there when Usagi and Mamoru arrived, Haruka filling them in on what details she knew.

"The nurse went in to change her drip, and that was the first they knew of it. The whole thing drew quite a crowd from this hall before the police could get it closed off again, so it's not going to be a secret for long. It might be worth one or two of the Sailor Senshi putting in an appearance, if only to get some info out of the cops. Having her disappear out from under their noses has put them in a foul mood."

"We can manage that," Mamoru said, putting himself and Usagi forward. "If Mercury can join us that would probably help too."

Usagi readily agreed. "Is there anything else they've said?"

"Not the police. The nurse who found them said there was blood on Ono-san's pillow, but the bed was made and the monitoring equipment and I.V. needles had been tidied up by the cabinet. Plus the watch on the door has been pretty diligent, 24-7. Whatever Pluto told them, it kept them on alert ever since they brought her in."

Rei gave her a small, dark smile. "You've been keeping tabs on them?"

"I have to get out of this bed every now and then. Apparently Miranda's coping well, so 'gentle exercise' is the new order of the day, which means walking down the hall and back whenever the nurses decide it's time for some."

"We ought to talk to Mizuno-sensei as well," Makoto added. "But if the Shadow came back for her then... who knows."

At the same time Usagi stepped over to the chair Rei sat in and offered her a smile. "How's Grandpa?"

"Sleeping," came the measured response. "I shouldn't keep coming early, but with school and the shrine..."

"Mum and I can come help out again, if you want. I'm sure she wouldn't mind."

Rei shook her head. "No, it's fine. I've put up some shorter opening times, so I can get to college. I just wish the antibiotics worked faster. I keep turning up expecting him to be better already."

Usagi leaned down to give her a hug. "He'll get better, Rei-chan. And how about Mamo-chan and me come and help out, when Mako-chan is at work.

Rei pouted, but only a little. "You don't need to, it's fine. But if you want to come a say 'hi' some time I won't stop you."

000

The hidden security cameras turned out to be more informative than Usagi or Mamoru had guessed, and thankfully the police, however guarded, were more than willing to receive opinions from the Senshi again. This was clearly still their territory.

Detective Tokuno sped the film through to the pertinent parts, and it was at the midnight mark that Marya's unmoving form stirred. However, just before that point he pointed out the new, slight wave of the privacy curtain by the bed. "Whatever it was," she short, aging detective said, "it had to open the window."

Then when her body did move it was not of her own accord, but rose from the shoulders, her head still lolling back as if being lifted, and without provocation or resistance a trickle of blood then appeared at her throat. Sailor Moon actually gasped to see it, remembering just the same thing being done to Marya before, by the Shadow-Ryu. Though he could not be seen on screen, it must have been him. Minako had claimed that those holding the Shadow's power could pass unnoticed by the eyes of any and everyone around them. That went as far as recording equipment as well.

A dark tone seeped across her chest and neck a moment later, and then she fell limp. A few seconds later and something pale dropped from thin air onto the bed.

"That was it," Tokuno explained. He wound on the film again. "We didn't find whatever that object was that appeared at the end, and nothing else happens for the next three hours."

And just as he said, the footage that sped by consisted of nothing by Marya's body in her bed, once again limp.

"Did he kill her?" Sailor Moon asked, peering at the image behind the speeding lines on the TV. "Who took the body?"

"If your Shadow is a 'he', then he didn't come here to kill her. Watch."

A moment later he dropped the footage back to normal speed. For several seconds nothing happened, and then Marya stirred again. But this time, it was of her own accord. She searched about, clearly bewildered, before seeing the pale thing that had rolled down into her lap. She stared at it for a moment, on the brink of tears, before scooping it up and pulling the IV needle from her arm. She stepped out of bed like a woman on a mission, a film of inky blackness covering her before fading from the camera's sight altogether.

"Then she makes the bed, while invisible mind, and lets herself out of the window. I've never seen anything like it." Tokuno turned to Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen. "I trust you can provide some assistance in explaining *something* that's on these tapes?"

Tuxedo Kamen nodded, clearly affecting an air of confidence that he didn't feel. "Something, at least." It was nice that the crazy superhero in dinner dress wanted to reassure him, but better would have been some clear answers. The Pluto woman had been knowledgeable, but unhelpfully vague. Now these two - the apparent heads of the Sailor Senshi to some degree - were looking for answer just as he was.

Then Sailor Moon turned to him, a sad look on her face. The kind of face that looked like her heart was ready to break on someone else's behalf. "Can I see that part where she wakes up again?"

He couldn't deny a request when it was made like that. These people might have been crazy, but they did at least seem sincere.

000

That afternoon those with the free time congregated at the Hino shrine again, at Luna and Artemis' request. Haruka had to remain in her ward room and Hotaru had school to attend, but of the others Makoto was the only one who could not in good conscience shrug off their education or work. Mamoru had already called in sick, and Rei was grateful for an excuse to close the shrine and skip college for a good cause.

The end result was a much larger turnout than Luna had expected. She had just wanted to bounce Artemis' ideas around, rather than call a full strategy meeting, but since even Setsuna was in attendance she wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"Currently, our nightly excursions haven't been proving very useful," she explained to the quiet throng. It was no secret that their mission morale was low, and she didn't dwell on it. "However, between us we *have* been keeping most of the city monitored. Given that our enemy is so heavily inclined to keep itself hidden, and how easily it was able to visit Ono-san last night, we can't rely on catching it in the act."

Artemis spoke then, to explain his hypothesis. "You've all been good at tracking down enemies before, but those enemies had no real way of concealing their activities. At least, not from you. But this time I don't think that the Shadow is out to actively *attack* anyone."

Rei frowned at this idea. "What about my visions? We were all attacked by this Shadow there, along with so many other people."

"That depends on how you define 'attack'," Luna replied, understanding Rei's resentment at the implication. "From what Minako-chan has told us about that Shadow," all eyes turned to Minako, who smiled nervously, "and the readings Ami-chan has shown us in the past, this Shadow doesn't 'attack' in a way that leaves energy traces. Any violence or 'vampirism' that we have seen might even be incidental."

Artemis clearly agreed, and Luna was glad to have him jump in again to back up her explanation.

"The Shadow is an individual, but one that can possess multiple victims. A family, with a shared essence if you will. After what it did to Ono-san, it might be trying to rebuild that family."

Ami's brow furrowed as Artemis spoke, though she waited for him to finish before voicing her thoughts. "So far the only real anomalies I have picked up have been those coming from the Shadow itself, like the ones I found when it fled the theme park. I did find them again in Ono-san's hospital room, but no sign of an energy attack or magic, and they diffused once the signal got out onto the street. Trying to track one Shadow signal is difficult - they disperse into background readings very quickly it seems - but tracking multiple targets; that would confuse my computer even more."

Usagi looked over to Setsuna, standing quietly in the corner. "So, when Rei-chan saw it attack us, it might have been recruiting us after all."

Setsuna didn't bat an eyelid. "We would all make for powerful tools, if we were unwary."

Minako sighed, clearly unhappy as to where the conversation was going. "But if we can't track them properly, how do we stop them? Stake out the victims we know about from Rei-chan's vision and just call in backup when they turn up? That's a bit much, even for us."

"Yes, it would be rather impractical," Luna agree. "But we can at least check on them. Ono-san might have been the first, but the Shadow has had almost two weeks to act so far. More practically, we should start monitoring more efficiently, and build up a map of where these trace Shadow readings are appearing."

She looked to Ami. "Unfortunately that means sending you out as often as is feasible, since you computer is our only way of analysing and storing that data. But if you can teach the rest what to look for we may be able to spread the work out. Artemis and I can be checking up on our potential victims."

Ami only nodded. "I can go. It's our most sensible option so far. The sooner we can analyse where they move, the sooner we can narrow down their likely hideout. I have a reasonable amount of data already, so I can program in the correct parameters. Everything else is just data collection and detective work."

"Good. Thank you Ami-chan."

Then Michiru spoke up unexpectedly. "One thing that worries me." She spoke to Usagi. "The Shadow came and 'possessed' Ono-san. Possibly killing her in the process. We might not have seen him on that tape, but you make it sound pretty clear that she was left to come around on her own, and make her own escape. Why? Why not take her to their 'hideout' then and there?"

Usagi shook her head. "I don't know. But she wasn't happy about waking up. Maybe that's why?"

"Maybe she already knew where to go," Mamoru suggested. "That, or the Shadow doesn't know if it can trust her yet. Unlike Ono Ryu-san, Mayra-san clearly had her own will when she awoke."

"Unless Ono Ryu-san had always been a power crazed, immortality seeking megalomaniac behind his businesslike image." Michiru's voice was a dark as her idea. "We're assuming this Shadow has control of him, but that wasn't the case with you, Right Minako-san?"

"That's... right. But that wasn't the father Marya-sempai talked about. I can't believe that is him. She loved him."

000

"Ami-papa? What are you actually doing?"

Hotaru wasn't usually one to break a silence lightly. She found small talk awkward unless she was around more garrulous girls like Usagi or Minako, but after being left out of the Senshi meeting and then coming home to such a quiet house left her feeling a little lonely.

And it wasn't as though there was nothing going on. These recent nights without Haruka around had been quiet and punctuated more by polite small-talk than by the sort of friendliness that Hotaru had become used to from her collection of parents. However, the meeting seemed to have lit a new fire in Ami's engine and she sat as Sailor Mercury behind the closed curtains with her computer in her lap and ever-changing expressions of puzzlement and intrigue on her face.

Sailor Mercury looked up from the computer, clearly surprised to have been called by her real name. None of them ever used their names when in Sailor Senshi guise, partly for security's sake, but also because they never really felt like themselves when playing superhero. Certainly, Tomoe Hotaru would never have brandished a glaive at anyone even if she'd had access to it, and likewise Sailor Saturn's determined righteousness was something that Hotaru had only ever felt as a flicker of hopefully justified anger.

"This should be a program to help correlate the Shadow readings we have with our search patterns from night to night. It would be able to build up a map of result decay and projected movement patterns for me, but that would require me to take all the readings myself."

Hotaru understood the pertinent points of that. "So you would have to be out searching every night?"

Mercury nodded, her eyes already drifting back to her small screen. "Yes. And I get enough complaints that I study too much already, so I wouldn't mind delegating the data collection when I can."

Sitting with them in the lounge, a large novel in her hands, Michiru chose speak up at last. She had spent the entire afternoon in her studio, and re-appeared to make dinner for them once Hotaru had got home. But, besides the day to day mothering that she gave Hotaru she had remained unusually impassive.

"Hotaru-chan, Sailor Mercury needs to work. The rest of us would help if we could, but until she can tell us how then we *can't* help, and the more we distract her the less sleep she'll get tonight."

And finally a touch of that family humour slipped back into her voice. "You know what she's like when she has a problem she can't solve."

Hotaru smiled in agreement, but didn't voice it. "So who is out watching tonight?"

"Rei-chan and Makoto-chan volunteered, with Minako-chan."

That Rei had gone was a foregone conclusion. She, Michiru and Ami were the only ones among them with something beyond their normal senses of danger to guide their efforts, so the three of them had worked in rotation for the last few weeks.

"So I go out tomorrow night?"

Rather than Michiru, it was Mercury who replied to that. "If I can get this program finished, we should all go. I can teach you how it will work, and transfer the necessary programs to your communicators so you can take your readings with those. They won't have nearly the range or the versatility of my computer, but it will mean we can *all* take the necessary readings, and cover just as wide an area if we are thorough."

"As long as you don't work too late and burn yourself out," Michiru chided. "You've been typing for seven hours straight, including through dinner."

"Don't worry. The sooner it's done, the sooner I can relax. I just need to get my head around the energy parameters and how to apply their instances to my time map. After that programming in the data merging should be simple."

Well, if it was important than Hotaru just had to trust that she knew what she was doing. "Just don't stay up too late, Ami-papa."

Again, the name her parents had given her drew Mercury's head from her screen, if only briefly, and brought a smile to her face. "Don't worry, I won't."

000

Above a certain beauty store, long, uncertain days had turned into longer concerned weeks for Berthier of the Black Moon sisters. She was not the eldest of them, or the prettiest despite her occasional claims to the contrary. She was, however, a good contender for most intelligent sister, and that intelligence had bred in her the desire to move on with her human life and make the most of what Sailor Moon had given them.

She still had options, a smart tongue, and what she couldn't succeed at legitimately, she could always cheat at. Men liked a woman with a bit of bite to them, and Berthier was always willing to oblige as long as she came out on top.

Likewise, having her veneer of humanity stripped away hadn't affected her as much as it had worrisome Koan or stoic Petz. If she had her powers back then they were hers not to use, and they did ensure that her drinks were always properly chilled. Less useful in winter, but she was already looking to summer time, beaches, and thronging nightclubs.

What she didn't like was being kept ignorant. Staying informed was how a girl like her made sure she kept on winning, be it on the dance floor or in the stockroom. Keeping abreast of ever changing fashions, opinions, and social allegiances meant knowing when to gamble, when to ask sweetly, and when to walk away with a confident smile.

And, as those unsettling days had become weeks, her sisters had started to keep secrets again. Calveras seemed to have changed little, still partying by night and boasting through hangovers the next day - if she came home - but Petz had become bolder now too. The return of her unnatural stamina and Dark Thunder had swelled both her confidence and her ego, taking her out each evening without so much as a word. Then she would rise from bed the following mornings more chipper than Berthier had ever seen her.

That scared her. Petz didn't do 'chipper'. She had *never* done 'chipper'.

Likewise little sister Koan's enthusiasm for human life had become a worried shadow of its former self with the return of her Dark Fire. For her to be so quiet now after being the animated face of their store for so long meant that she was either genuinely depressed - in which case Berthier didn't really know how to help her - or else the girl was up to something.

Thankfully, her going out with Petz over the last fortnight pointed to the latter, and that was something Berthier could deal with. She also had a reasonable idea what the pair had been doing. It was no secret that the Sailor Senshi had been sighted regularly around Tokyo again, leading to all manner of rumours and supposition, but so far without causing any incidents. Given her sisters' shared affection for the super heroines the conclusion was now obvious.

And it pissed Berthier off that they had been getting away with it for weeks without her being informed! They could at least have asked if she wanted to join them in their vigilante hunt to help the Senshi out. She probably wouldn't have agreed, especially if she had a hot date that night, but it still would have been nice to be asked!

This time Berthier wasn't going to let them wander off without a confrontation. Reverse psychology be damned, she was going to join them just out of spite, and there was nothing they would be able to do to stop her.

Standing in the doorway to the shop stock room, and the back entrance to their apartments, Berthier greeted the guilty pair with a feline smile once the clock struck twelve.

"Sister Petz, were could you be going that this hour again? And Koan, really, you were supposed to be the conscientious one."

Koan didn't look happy at being caught, but Petz crossed her arms and smiled, unbearably smug. "Bertie, you finally found out about our little escapades? Koan caught me weeks ago. Care to join us for a dance and a drink then?"

Berthier's nonchalance snapped apart under that weight of smug. "Don't try that with me, *sister*. If you were dancing you'd come home black and blue from tripping on your own feet! You know what I think? I think a little of that Dark Thunder went to your head, and now you're creeping around behind the Sailor Senshi's backs, pretending you'd do them some good if you found them in a pinch."

Petz's haughtiness faded into a heavy, strong look of confidence. "That's what you think, is it?"

Berthier just stared. She knew she was right. Petz had all but admitted it, and she wasn't going to lose a staring match when she had the upper hand. Even if Petz was bigger than her.

But it wasn't Petz that was going to outdo her. Koan only had to step forward with that honest, resolute look on her face, and Berthier's defence fell.

"Berthier, what if we *can* help? It's not Sailor Moon's fault that we couldn't be made fully human again. But she tried, she gave us a chance. And now we have the power to repay her. Whatever they're looking for, we can help find it."

Berthier sighed, her resistance gone. So much for that. "Why don't you just *tell* them you're helping?"

The reply came from behind her, out in the back street. "Because then they'd be worrying about us as well, instead of just their enemies."

Outside Maxill, Kaizi and Shivis stood, their human disguises hiding their true appearance from the world, but not limiting them to human senses or abilities.

"All we can do is keep our eyes and ears open," Koan explained, "but that's something. And we, at least, can defend ourselves. The humans can't."

Berthier shook her head and dusted down the front of her blouse. "Alright. Fine. Where do we start?"

000

It was little more than tradition that dictated where the Black Moon Sisters and youma began their separate searches. There were plenty of parks, shopping arcades and the like the remained open through the night, and it was in those sorts of places that they themselves had stalked their own prey once upon a time. Berthier hardly thought it efficient or sensible behaviour, but with little else to go on but their own instincts she followed her sisters' lead none the less.

"And what about Tyra-chan? Is she in on this too?"

"No," Koan admitted. "Sister Petz started bringing the others along when they showed an interest, but Tyranya... You know."

True, the youma's commander was hardly the rock she had once been. Perhaps that was the reason Calveras and Berthier herself hadn't been let in on these escapades. They had never shown any inclination or interest in doing so. Berthier had won that race to get herself involved, and she rather liked it.

While the Youma kept their civilian guises to go about the city the sisters took to the rooftops, aping the Senshi's approach to long distance city travel. Wearing dark, though still fashionable dress they were difficult to spot against the night's sky, allowing them to watch Tokyo's open spaces from a distance before moving on. Petz expect them to check on three whole districts before the night was out, and at their pace that was certainly feasible. It was nothing compared to the Senshi's sweeps of the city, of course, but then Koan and Petz had recently spotted them all with monitoring devices that had previously been Mercury's exclusive domain. As such they never stopped in any one place for more than a minute or two before moving on.

"And they didn't spot you?"

Petz smirked. "Of course not. I'm no amateur, and they aren't looking for us."

As the night wore on however the search lost its appeal. There was nothing to find, and none of the sisters knew what they should be looking for. They dealt in life energy, not whatever it was the Senshi were monitoring across the city.

"Big sister, what exactly do you hope to find?" Berthier yawned. The watch on her wrist said it was three in the morning, and she was inclined to believe it.

"There's something out there," was Petz's reply. "And it must know the Senshi are looking for it. It isn't expecting us."

"But if the Sailor Senshi can't even find it with their equipment how do you ever expect to?"

Petz clearly had no good answer to that, but Berthier guessed she would have said it was better than doing nothing at all.

Koan, on the other hand, had a better suggestion, and slowed in her running across the roofs. "Like that," she said, pointing down to street level.

Below them was a posh looking Christian chapel, and in its forecourt knelt a single robed figure in front of a grave.

"That looks suspicious enough to me."

Bethier and Petz went to join her. "It... could just be a cosplayer?" Berthier guessed, still not convinced despite the oddness of the sight.

"At three in the morning?" Petz was more convinced. "You have good eyes little sister. This might be the break we've been after."

With that she leaped down onto the wall around the private graveyard, and the other two followed.

The cloaked figure was covered almost entire by her robe, but they could see that her hands were dirt stained from clawing at the earth. Though out of sight of the figure, the three sisters could just make out the female voice, muttering to itself.

"Don't worry, Vesper-chan. I'll take good care of it for you now. You just rest with Mother, and I'll see you soon."

The voice hitched, clearly not done mourning, but Marya stood, finally revealing her face from under her hair. "And I'll make use of my second chance. I'll make him regret thinking he could 'spare' me like this."

She swung around to march away, but stopped stiff, suddenly catching sight of Berthier and her sisters even in the dark, behind their gravestones.

Marya snarled, the drying tears clearly forgotten and she leap back to land above them on the spire of the church. Petz and Koan followed without a thought, but from below Berthier watched as Marya's caped form vanished, leaving her sisters lost on the church roof.

"How did she get away?" Petz cursed once she returned. "We were right behind her."

Berthier's thoughts were on more pressing matters than blame and supposition though, and she pulled her cell phone from her hip-bag. "Never mind that. Sailor Moon needs to know that this woman was *here* of all places, and if there is a trail to follow then it is still fresh."

000

It was while Tsukino Usagi was being woken at that ungodly hour by her mobile phone that one Ooyama Rika, second year degree student and volunteer social worker, jerked awake at a similarly harsh sound.

She blinked wildly into the darkness of her apartment's one bedroom, her heart racing after being woken from so deep a sleep. The doorbell continued to ring for several second before cutting out and leaving her to collect herself and let out a frustrated sigh.

"Uuugh. Who on earth could that be?"

She looked over to her watch, sitting on its little stand by her bed.

"Three am? What? Stupid pranks. What about people who have to get up in the mornings, you bums? Go get a job if you can't get into school."

She wrestled her head back into her pillow. Hopefully those young drunks would just harass the rest of the floor and move on.

Sadly that was too much to hope for, and the doorbell rang again, just as long as last time.

'Ignore them,' Rika told herself, pulling her pillow over her head. 'They'll go away. Why pick *now* to act up?'

Her anger was more than justified, not only at the delinquent behaviour, but because she really didn't need the extra stress. Ever since one of the five men she was supposed to visit had vanished her work for the social services office had turned into more of a chore than a personal moral victory. The police had even been called in, and as the one to make visits to Mr Tomoe she had been made to give all manner of evidence to prove that she hadn't been behind his disappearance.

Sure, he could be creepy at times, and a bit inattentive of his surroundings, but he wasn't even close to being on her list of 'cases she would rather not have been given'. The man who had kept feeding the local rats in his basement, yes, that was a month of her life she would never get back, and how glad she was that he had been taken into full time care after all. The absent minded ex-professor though? He was actually nice to help care for.

*Had* been nice to care for, she correct herself. Hopefully he hadn't got himself into any trouble. But that wasn't her case any more, and she'd given back his keys.

Then, as she settled properly into her duvet, a dull *thunk* brought her back to full wakefulness again. That had been too clear to be next door. That was her kitchen window, except that she was on the third floor!

With her heart now racing for an entirely different reason she drew herself slowly from her bed. This was absurd, probably just a bird that hit the window, but after living in that little apartment for a year and a half she could have sworn that it sounded like the window latching itself *open*. The thing was a little sticky, and difficult to get moving without going all the way one way or the other.

And if someone was breaking into her apartment somehow, she couldn't just ignore it. But what *could* she do? She reached for her phone, deactivating the speaker. If need be she could call the police at a moments notice, silently.

If need be. Maybe she was still being silly. Even so she couldn't go back to bed after hearing that, and the repeated attempts at her doorbell. Out in the little hallway that partitioned up the flat she could see a light coming from the kitchen. Not the main light, but the fridge? Someone *was* in there!

She gripped the phone, slowly dialling for the emergence services even as she peeked silently around the door.

A tall man in a long white coat stood stooped inside her fridge, humming to himself before straightening up. The light from the refrigerator only lit his body, but even so a pair of large, round framed spectacles flashed brightly on his nose.

Even in the half light of her fridge, she would have recognised those glasses on such a thin frame anywhere, and her thumb paused on the dial button. "Tomoe...-san?"

The man-shadow called Berserk turned, his hands full of unprepared food, and a crescent smile appeared on his dark lips. "Ahh, Rika-chan. You have a wonderful refrigerator, my dear. Good nutrition is so important in leading a healthy, active lifestyle."

The lanky, white-haired man made a few half-squats, as if to emphasise his point.

Rika could only stare in amazement, not knowing what else to think. "Are you okay, Tomoe-san? Are... Are you wearing a lab coat?"

The Berserk looked down at himself, the grin still fixed unmoving to his face as he advanced on her, placing foodstuffs meticulously on the worktop as he went. "Why, yes my dear. Proper kitchen and laboratory safety is also very important, you know. And I think it looks rather fetching on me actually. Aha, haha, ahahahahHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!"

000

Though it sometimes felt like it, Sailor Pluto was not as often accused of having her priorities wrong as, say, Sailor Uranus or Sailor Moon. That pair, in particular, were the ones whose snap decisions could be argued against in the heat of the moment, or whose moral fortitude was not to be swayed no matter the circumstance.

Instead, Pluto's choices came back to visit her after the fact, with the benefit of hindsight to temper those who might accuse her of coldness or arrogance. Having ones choices proved correct before having to answer for them was easier on the conscience, she found. Not that she often answered for herself, even if it might have been required. Mystique was preferable to proof of fallibility.

Sometimes though, once in a blue moon, sentiment would win out. Had she joined the call to hunt down Marya it might have improved their chances of catching her. Not guaranteeing them, but it would have helped greatly. Instead Marya would go free, to confuse their hunting for the weeks to come. She was an unknown quantity, yes, but no longer a danger. An angry and frustrated Shadow being, but one whose wings had been clipped hard by her dark father.

In exchange, Pluto was likewise free to roam as she wished that night, and to visit a friend who might otherwise have spent the night alone.

"Hino-san. Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

Grandpa Hino smiled up from his bed, looking very old. Each breath came as a dry whistle from his throat, and he licked his lips to try and wet them. "I thought I heard Rei-chan, waking me up. Just a dream, I guess."

Sailor Pluto stood straight at his bedside, Garnet Rod in hand, but her voice was soft and kindly. "Yes, just a dream. Rei-chan is needed tonight."

"I see it on the TV. You are all so busy, every night. I don't envy her."

There was no point in pretending to deny it, of course. He had known that Rei was Sailor Mars when he had realised her own identity, if not before. And he had never said a word. Now, though, there was no need for pretence. "She is a strong girl, Hino-san. And a good soldier. You don't need to worry."

"Good." The old priest closed his tired eyes. "You'll look after her though, won't you Pluto-san? When the time comes. I know Mako-chan will. She's such a nice girl. I'm glad they became friends."

"We will, of course."

"... Thank you."

In the silence that followed Grandpa Hino seemed to drift back to sleep, so Pluto reached for a chair and brought it to his bedside.

It was a surprise when he spoke again. "Pluto-san? Should I be afraid?"

Pluto paused, surprised for a moment. What a thing for a priest to ask her.

"No, I don't think so."

"Good. I didn't want to let her down."

"You didn't," she replied, taking his hand. "Your raised her well."

His wrinkled old face creased into a smile. "I'm glad."

His wheezing breath became heavy again as he did finally fall asleep, and Sailor Pluto pulled her chair closer, to stand her vigil once again, until the end.

000

To Be Continued...

000

Please leave a review with any comments and constructive criticism you may have. They are always greatly appreciated, and there is no better reward for a writer than to hear back from the readers.

(c) Nutzoide 2009-2011


	9. Darkness Falls

World Shaking: Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Sailor Moon or anything that comprises it. This is a non-profit story written solely for my own enjoyment and that of anyone who wishes to read it. The story and original characters are mine. Please don't use them without permission.

000

World Shaking

- A Sailor Moon Fan-Fiction by Nutzoide -

Chapter 9: Darkness Falls

The Many Colours of Life's Rich Tapestry

Grandpa Hino passed away on the 12th of February, and within days the entire Azabu-Juuban district had descended on the Hikawa shrine to pay their respects.

Or that's how it felt to Rei, at least. She had skipped her classes and closed the shrine on Saturday the 13th in order to see him, and came away hours later with bleary eyes and all sorts of petty worries in her head that she needed to drown in hot, bitter tea. Not until after she'd had another cry on the bus home and a sniffled phone call to Makoto at work, but when she did finally get it, that tea had helped to no end.

Makoto had also disobeyed and told everyone else the news, so in no time at all she was besieged with phone calls and trespassers all far too eager to share in what should have been a sensible, straight faced bit of mourning. Instead Haruka, Michiru, Ami and Setsuna came bearing flowers and sake, Minako brought the most infectiously out of place disposition ever, and once Usagi had turned up there was nothing left to do but spend the afternoon giggling, crying and indulging in the most impromptu Irish wake ever displayed in a Japanese shrine. Several of the more meddlesome locals weren't put off by the closed sign either, not after seeing her friends going up to visit her, and by midday over a dozen more had arrived, and then gone to spread the sad word to dozens more.

The afternoon saw the string of neighbourhood friends and well wishers becoming constant. For all his foibles, mad-cap schemes and lecherous inclinations, they all had far more happy stories to tell of their brief time with her grandfather than she would ever have imagined. Makoto was even let off work early to go and join them, because her worrying was causing more trouble among the customers at the noodle shop than her absence would.

After they had eaten the dinner Michiru and Makoto prepared Rei had ushered them all out, despite some of their offers to stay. She wanted the shrine to herself - well, herself and Makoto - though for the life of her she didn't know why. The show of support was heart-warming, but she was entitled to her sentimentality and if there was anything of her Grandfather left it was there in that silent shrine. He had lived his entire life there, just about, and if such things as spirits existed - after everything Sailor Mars had seen she really wasn't sure - then his would return there. Of that much she was certain.

His spirit didn't come visiting, but then she hadn't really expected it to. Instead she just spent the night listening to the sounds of the shrine, and appreciating Makoto's comforting arms. It kept striking her at odd moments like that, but Makoto really was very tall, and even while she slept those strong arms seemed protective. Rei really did feel like a sap, but right then she had all the justification in the world. She'd known it was a possibility, but somehow she'd just assumed her grandfather would recover. He always had. It just didn't seem fair.

"Mako? What am I going to do with this place?"

Makoto simply breathed, her sleeping head nestled between their two pillows.

"Yeah, I want to keep it. Maybe I can hold on until I graduate? It's only three weeks until the exams. Except I haven't worked on my dissertation for a month."

Makoto muttered something into the pillow, untidying her hair a little more.

"Well, I hope those nuns back at middle school were wrong. I think angels might have a bit much dealing with him."

000

If Saturday had been hard work then Sunday was a trial unlike any other. Living with Desir was probably the exception, but that had been a different matter entirely. In retrospect, she should have left the shrine closed, and ignored the rest of the world for a day. Instead she rose shortly after Makoto did (that girl had an absurdly strict internal clock!) and removed the sign from the bottom of the hill.

It would be better if she just got on with the day, she had decided. The shrine was too quiet, just being herself and Makoto, and her girlfriend did have her own apartment to return to eventually. Not that she wanted her to go in the least. Hell, as Rei climbed her way back to the shrine the impulse took her to ask Makoto to move in. Rei wasn't built for living alone, and she knew it. That's why she had experimented a bit while trying to live in dorms for the first few years of her course - living alone made her irritable (a little Usagi voice piped in with '*more* irritable' just there) and not a little depressed.

She had squashed that thought though. At least wait until they were both done with their educations and knew where they were going, which probably wouldn't take very long. Rei doubted she would be going anywhere now. She wasn't nearly as spiritual as she had once been, but the fire still showed her what she needed to know, and someone had to look after it properly. Makoto though? She still had her year to re-take, and after that who knew?

In the end her morning routine and normal day failed to materialise when the first wave of families and couples descended on them both. A steady flow of loving pairs came to buy their fortune slips for Valentine's Day, and everyone who had caught word of Grandpa Hino's passing came to pay their respects, say a prayer, and offer donations far more generous than Rei had ever seen.

By midday Makoto had donned her let-out shrine maiden robes to man the gift stand, and Rei had called in Minako and Hotaru to help out. She wasn't about to disrupt the other girls' Valentines plans, whatever they might have been, but Minako was still single, and would need no encouragement if she got to wear the robes. Rei had also learned that Hotaru made for a very knowledgeable and approachable shrine maiden in a pinch, even if she was too reserved for her own good.

Between them they could help field the customers while Rei kept up her role to meet everyone who had come to give their condolences, and Makoto could whip up something for them to eat in what few lulls there were.

Of course, behind her smiles and pleasantries Rei was soon ready to scream. The thought was nice, but she still hadn't really got to grips with the reality that she didn't have her grandfather there, and how on earth had so many people found out already? Of course, quite a few had read his obituary in the local newspaper - and Rei had a good idea who had written it too - but still, it seemed a little ridiculous! Given that she'd just had her last remaining relative die, or the last that meant anything to her, keeping up her respectable and calm image was unbearable.

When the sun began to sink and the last milling visitors did leave she waited for a good few minutes until they were out of earshot and then screamed into her sleeves, just to let out her frustration.

"Hey, Rei-chan? Are you okay?"

Rei wanted to glare at Hotaru and her quiet, sympathetic voice, but of course the girl was just concerned. As many of those visitors had been. Instead she just let out a big sigh.

"Yes, I'm fine. Thanks. Just tired."

Minako streamed over, her sleeves billowing out behind her, clearly having loved every minute of it. "Yeaah! I've never seen this place so busy! Mako-chan and me sold so many charms and fortunes I couldn't even count!" Then she shook herself and calmed down a little. "I mean, most of them came because of Grandpa, so... That's good, right?"

Rei nodded, but reserved the right to look miffed. It was either that or have a good cry, and now wasn't the time for that. "Yeah, but I wouldn't have minded not dealing with all that for another day. Still, it's to be expected I guess."

Makoto came over more sedately than Minako, dusting off her hands. "And he would have loved to play for a crowd like that. Clearly they liked being played to."

That was true. Rei felt the tears forming, and blinked them away. "Yeah, he would. Come on, help me bring the donation box in and we can count it up. I owe you something for your trouble if nothing else."

Hotaru shook her head. "Oh, no, it was fun. Besides, I... sort of like these outfits."

Minako grinned, "Me too! I'm the most glamorous shrine maiden ever!"

She struck a pose, and Hotaru giggled. In response Rei decided to have that glare after all. "The most starry-eyed maybe. Come on. We have a box to move, and it's *extra* heavy today."

000

It wasn't long after the money was counted that Michiru came to collect her daughter, with Minako following them out.

"I hope Hotaru behaved herself," Michiru mentioned with an amused glance, seeing how tired Rei had ended up, but Minako fielded the question ably.

"When had she ever *not*. We couldn't have got her to misbehave if we tried. Not that I did. But I could have, and she wouldn't have had any of it."

Hotaru just coloured and walked off in what passed for a huff from her, but not until after wishing Rei and Makoto a polite good evening, leaving Michiru and Minako to follow after her.

Still sat around the table, and nursing a cup of tea, Rei waved them off knowing that they could see themselves out. Getting back up off the floor and away from the heated table seemed like far too much effort right now.

Next to her Makoto smiled. Rei was holding up very well as far as she was concerned. "You want me to make curry tonight?"

That got the expected response, and Rei slumped over the table, nodding. "That would be nice. Would you mind staying again tonight?"

"I packed for it." Makoto stroked her back once before getting to her feet. She has also packed something else, but hadn't yet found the opportunity to retrieve it. And considering recent events she wasn't even sure now was really appropriate, but maybe it would help keep her girlfriend's spirits up.

She pulled the flat, bow-wrapped box from her bag, still where she had left it in the hall the previous evening, and padded back to Rei at the table.

"Here." She knelt down and slid the box across. "This wasn't really how I expected to spend Valentines Day, but I made this."

Rei's eyes widened a little, just staring at it. "Oh yeah. I was going to take you out and embarrass you in public too, but then all this happened."

She took the package and with careful fingers undid the ribbon and opened it. Inside was the large chocolate medallion Makoto had made during the week, illustrated with a white tree and their two names piped underneath it.

Makoto shifted over and put and arm around Rei as the girl giggled, wiping her tired eyes. "Heh, that's cute. You know, I don't think I've carved us into a tree yet. We should get onto that."

"I was going to leave the trees alone actually," Makoto replied, glad that Rei hadn't actually started crying or anything like that. "That way I can keep making you chocolate."

"Okay. Thank you." Rei snapped a bit off the edge of the disk to taste. "It's good. Not that it's a surprise in the least."

"Of course. I'm confident in my confectionary."

"This means I have to learn to cook by White Day, doesn't it?"

"Absolutely."

"If I ask nicely will you help?"

Makoto couldn't suppress a grin. "How nicely?"

Rei pulled herself off the table and lay into Makoto's arm, sighing. "I can be nice. Or I might just take you out and embarrass you after all."

Alright, agreed Makoto mentally, that's enough teasing. "Curry it is then. You can come and help if you want."

Mainly if she wanted something to do rather than sit and listen to the empty shrine. Even Makoto felt it, despite her attempts to lighten the atmosphere.

"...Sure."

000

Though she would have preferred otherwise, Luna couldn't delay the Senshi's next official meeting to let Rei grieve. Too much progress had been made in the last week, and Sailor Mercury had finished her first analysis of their combined data collections.

However, there was also the problem that visitors still trickled up to the shrine whether it was open or not, in the hope of sneaking a look around to pay their respects, or to offer sympathies. Rei had amended her sign with a hand written note, but even so it was too risky to meet there as openly as they once had, but Rei needed to be there in case someone *did* arrive, and need gently evicting again.

That was why Luna waited outside in the cold, while her charges and their many - far too many - new allies talked. She had outlined their situation, but it was up to Sailor Mercury to lead the actual meeting. Luna would simply listen from the doorway, and call for Rei should someone appear.

"The Shadow's signature is highly diffuse," Ami explained from within, "but its concentration and dissipation over time can at least show us where he - they, now - have been, and when."

The rustling of a large map of Greater Tokyo followed, and out came a thick black marker. "We know he started here, and the next trace of him was *here*, at the hospital. By that point however he must already have split himself into a second host, because the trail becomes bi-linear, separating here, here and here." More marks were drawn on the map.

"This park was either their next stop, or the source of that second trace. But the general sequence of events unfolded something like this."

Luna knew exactly were the pen was going now, back and forth and the map in clear, precise lines, with little care for major roadways, construction sites or funnels for traffic.

"One of these is Ono Marya, of course, but the rest belong to our suspects."

At this point Luna would have expected at least one of her Senshi to point out an obvious hole in Ami's pattern, and they did not disappoint.

"Ami-chan, there's no home base on here."

"No, there isn't." Ami replied, gravely this time. "With the exception of the hospital, they haven't returned to any single location, at least as far as we have found. Either their base of operations is at one of these three intersections in the routes, or they are holding up in various different locations as they go. The latter is the most likely, since they had split three ways about four days ago."

"Most troubling though," she added, "one trail has been following our own route on and off for almost that long."

"Because of this," Artemis added, "no-one should be out alone from here on. None of you. Ever. If Rei-chan is right, and they will only prey on isolated targets, you must have someone with you at all times."

"So," came the quiet voice of Koan as she, her sisters and the youma sat in on the meeting, "where does that leave you? And us?"

"Up the creek without a paddle," Berthier replied darkly, but Sailor Pluto had more constructive input to give.

"I leaves us with two important pieces of information. If we follow the trails closely enough, we will eventually catch up to them. Not ideal, given their skill at stealth, but it is an option. More importantly we have almost a dozen clear sites to inspect, and we can see who might be missing, or what might have been taken."

"And as far as catching them, we have enough data on their movement patters to loosely predict where they might head to next," Ami explained, "and when they might cross paths with each other."

"And we can lay traps," Mamoru added, "both at those points, and for the one stalking us on our nightly rounds. According to Rei-chan's visions, we have plenty of bait already."

Of course, Usagi didn't like the idea of that. "You mean, ourselves? Mamo-chan!"

Luna had to hand it to him, the man was courageous if nothing else. "It won't be the first time I've been bait, dumpling. I make a nice target, if experience is anything to go by. And you'll be ready to swoop in and close the trap nice and promptly, I would hope."

"What about us?" Petz asked, speaking up at last. "We can check those addresses they seem to have visited, while you're working. Our shop doesn't need even half of us there most of the time."

"Thank you Petz-san. That would be appreciated. As long as you go in pairs at the very least."

000

"Haruka-san? It's Maki. Can I come in?"

Haruka looked up to the closed door of her ward room, over the top of the marginally interesting magazine she had been reading. "It's open."

A moment later it did open, and Maki crept in looking for all the world like she wasn't supposed to be there. Once inside she leaned against the door and signed, before giving her a wave. At least it was a Sunday, and she hadn't skipped school to visit again.

"Hello, little sister. Are you trying to hide from the hospital's long line of talent scouts, or worried that you'd be seen consorting with the likes of me?"

"Oh, what? No, nothing like that. You said which room you were in, so I just sort of came up. Was I supposed to ask someone? Because the police out there were looking like I wasn't supposed to be here."

Haruka shook her head. "No, they're like that. All so very worried for the protection of their charges, so having patients and visitors underfoot gets them cranky."

"Hmff. As long as they do their jobs. But having a police guard? Scary. Kind of makes it real, and not just something you see on the news." She trotted over to the seat beside the bed and sat herself down, smoothing out her skirt as she did. While she may have been a rebel underneath, she had clearly taken their parents' teachings to heart, and was still as immaculately turned out as when they had first met. "So, how are you doing anyway? I nearly panicked when I found out you were involved in all that theme garden kidnapping business, and then again when you ended up here again. Mum and Dad too."

Haruka ignored the mention of her parents and smiled. "Thanks. That was cute, the card. I'd been meaning to invite you over properly, to meet Michiru and Hotaru-chan."

"Oh, that's okay. Here's plenty of time, right? And besides, I'm kind of scared of meeting them. I'm too young to be an aunt!"

"Not much we can do about that now," Haruka said with a wry smile. "Besides, Hotaru-chan's far too old to be your niece either, I'm sure."

"Heh, yeah. Besides, maybe I can make use of myself, when I do come over. And extra pair of hands for baby, right?"

The idea amused Haruka. "Don't worry about that, we have more than enough pairs of hands on standby. But it won't be long now. A month and a half we reckon."

"Wow." Maki's inquisitive eyes went straight to her now enormous stomach. Again, Haruka wasn't really all that big for being so far along, but on her still relatively slim build it was very noticeable.

"Yeah, and I might even get to spend some of that at home as well."

Haruka hadn't really meant to whine there, but that was how it had evidently come out, because Maki looked back up with sympathy. "That bad, huh?"

Haruka shrugged. There was no point putting a brave face on her frustration. "Between coming here after getting, well... abducted, and then this problem? I've spent over a month in this bed. My girlfriend is out there working her arse off for my sake, with visitors coming every other day, and all I can tell them is 'sorry, still laid up here.' Not that I mind the excuse not to be waddling around, but still."

There was also the matter of the hunt for the shadows. It had been going on for weeks now, first building up Sailor Mercury's map of readings and then following up on the hottest trails and points that these linked entities had visited. It was so dispiriting to hear how little progress could be made each night, with even the Youma and Phantom Sisters helping out. Either the shadows were already gone, or the places they had visited had suffered little more than a break-in or minor theft. If anything had happened at all. It seemed the shadows were following some fanciful whims of their own, rather than actually working towards any kind of organised goal. The worst incident was the theft of the empty crystals that the police had collected from both the youmas' destroyed shell tank and Marya's laboratory, but no energy thefts had been located.

Either the Senshi were just getting unlucky in their hunting, or the Shadows were doing little more than playing around. Stealing food, clothing or jewellery was hardly even Dark Kingdom level work, and several trails had turned up nothing at all but used makeshift beds, several days abandoned. At least if Haruka had been able to help out there would have been another pair of eyes out there, to try and help catch whatever was slipping through the cracks.

"Yeah, I guess it must be hard. And the doctors just say you've got to stay put, because of the baby?"

"Yup, that's about it. What about you? Did your folks give you any grief over that magazine interview?"

"No," Maki replied with a smile. She'd flinched just a little when they'd been called 'your folks' rather than 'our folks', but then Haruka hadn't been subtle about how she felt when they'd first met. "I don't think they ever saw it. Of course, I didn't leave that issue out, so... Anyway, in case you didn't believe me about the Karate, here."

She pulled out her phone, and pulled the chair around so that they would both be able to see it. "That was me winning the school championship last year. Only girls, so I guess it doesn't count for that much - there's only five of us - but still! They're sending us to the inter-school championships this year too."

"Brown belt? Not bad." She had drive, at least. And to be fair the outfit did suit her.

"Yep, first kyu. I'll be in black by next year, guaranteed."

000

Though Haruka had silently bemoaned the lack of progress in their hunt, the last few days had seen the most notable forward movement of the last month as far as discovering the Shadows' motives was concerned. Their movements *had* been with a purpose - if only their own amusement, Sailor Jupiter had noted - but that was clearly not the whole truth of the matter. While the Senshi patrolled at night and the Black Moon's Phantom Sisters trekked across Tokyo to find their past haunts and petty crimes, the youma had taken it upon themselves to investigate the main remaining source of data; Tokyo city's lists of missing persons.

The list was long, and getting longer every week, with police trying to track both the shadows and Tokyo's latest rise of unrelated gang crime, never mind all the runaways on top of that.

It was a task Sailor Pluto had set them, as the near future was still too blurred for her to have a clear window into the situation, which had now gone on too long for even her patience. Her time was better spent helping pre-empt the crisis that would trigger Ono Ryu's reappearance, and the longer it took the more anxious Pluto had become.

After days of going through news reports and papers, the youma had been ready to take a visit to the police station itself - accompanied by sailor Pluto herself in necessary - to make sure that there were no holes in their research. But before that they had given Pluto the list of names and addresses that they had already found.

Their plans had been cancelled from that point onward. While the youma knew the true identities of most of the Sailor Senshi, that knowledge did not extend to their family names. Usagi had insisted that, as friends now, they were on first name terms. As such, the name Tomoe Souichi hadn't meant anything to them, but it meant the world to Sailor Pluto.

000

Half an hour after receiving Setsuna's call, Petz and Calveras reached the apartment block that their sisters had been guiding them to. It was one of the sites on their list, but the one they had been saving until last for the sake of expediency. It was awkward to get to, being both away from the main public transport routes and far enough from the centre of the built up residential district to make roof-hopping more a chore than merely taking the longer pedestrian route.

Had they known who had lived there, and her connection to another possible victim they had never known, they would have made it more of a priority.

"Well, we weren't to know," Calveras justified to herself down the phone to her younger sister. "Now, which apartment did you say this Ooyama-san lived at?"

Berthier gave her the specifics from the computer in her room, including the name of the duty manager for the building. "And if it turns out she is gone remember to give Pluto the first call. I've never heard her so flustered, and I don't want to deal with the result."

"Of course I will. Now get back down to Koan and be good until we get back."

Calveras hung up and jogged to catch Petz at the door to the huge grey block of the building. "Well," she chirped, eager to make conversation and keep the mood light, "even if she has ended up in trouble it will be the first good lead we've had so far!"

"She could be *dead* for all we know, sister," Petz growled back, quietly to make sure they weren't overheard by anyone inside. "Not that I want to check all these apartments after all, if we are wrong, but let's not condemn the girl just yet."

That was true enough, and Calveras didn't bait her sister further. It had not been pleasant investigating break-ins and thefts, and she didn't want to think that this time they might be walking up to a murder. Not that they did walk; it was six floors up and the lift worked just fine, but it was the most ominously quiet elevator journey she had ever been on. Hopefully the first and last of its kind.

The sixth floor was desolate, and it didn't take them long to find the apartment they were looking for. The door was sealed with police tape and posted with an appeal for anyone to give information as to any events two weeks before that might had left the occupant missing.

"Two weeks?" Petz sounded disgusted with herself. "We should have done this place first."

"Petz, how were we to know? There are almost a hundred flats here, and all the houses across the estate. Without a name to go by we'd have been hunting blind." She sighed. Her sister was taking this all so seriously. She'd found a new niche in life, Calveras guessed. No more turns as the shop perfume expert? One less sister to fill in for her when she had a date? Why did Petz have to have depth after all?

And why did Calveras find herself feeling the same way? Hopefully just their usual competitiveness given new life by Petz's sudden vigour.

"So, what now? We ask around?"

Petz pointed to the phone she knew was in Calveras' purse. "First we let Setsuna know she was right, after all. Then we ask around."

000

Real life hadn't stopped for any of them either. With April now upon them all the girls still at school had their end of year exams or course deadlines hurtling towards them, meaning their time was split between their studies and being the Senshi almost exclusively. Makoto took her notes to work again, Rei only opened the shrine four hours a day to catch up on her dissertations, and while Ami wasn't helping either her or Usagi she was taking her slew of readings from Haruka and her test group and writing up the results as a coherent paper. Hers wouldn't be ready until after Miranda and the other children were born was born, and her tutors were making allowances for that, but it was still a lot of work to do while also making sure the Senshi's ever growing and changing Shadow map was up to date.

And Minako? She was out of work, and had been since she and the other Shadow hosts had been hospitalised. The Midnight Garden was closed indefinitely, with Le FEI currently going though legal proceedings to keep themselves clean and afloat until Ono Marya was caught again, and could be given a proper hearing. Assuming that was still possible after the Sailor Senshi had apprehended her. Everyone knew the Senshi were on the job, after all, and this was their territory. The police did what they could, but they were out of their depth, unequipped to deal with these supernatural beings.

And Minako did wonder what they would do when they caught Marya again. She was dead, after all. While Usagi still held out hope, she had seen the Shadow in Ono Ryu's body taking what little energy the woman had still possessed, and replacing it once again with a part of himself. The question now was, was she under his spell, or still in control of herself? Minako dearly hoped it was the latter. Her Marya-sempai might have been tricked before, but she had meant well.

Minako sighed and turned her mind to more immediate matters. She needed to be firm and tell her agent just how difficult it would be for her to be employed right now. "Mikiyo-san, it's not that I don't want to work. Believe me, a pay cheque would be really good right about now. But with these Shadows still on the loose I'm not supposed to be taking risks like running around the country. I mean, I even had a bodyguard to bring me here."

That was also true. With each of them having appeared in Rei's vision Luna had been cracking down on their movements to keep them all safe. Since Minako was already known to be friendly with at least some of the Senshi Sailor Neptune had come along as her second pair of eyes, standing out in the hall while they spoke. She also, as it happened, made for a good example.

The main issue was this; with so much going on right at this moment, having Senshi like herself and Sailor Neptune not tied down by studies or fixed employment was a massive boon.

Sitting behind her desk, Hakano Mikiyo sighed. She had been putting herself back to work with a passion after her convalescence, and it frustrated her that Minako seemed to have been scared away from doing the same. That said, she *did* have one of the Sailor Senshi waiting in the hallway for her in person, and if that wasn't a good excuse then nothing was.

"Very well, I can understand that. But you need to be capitalising on your success *now*, Minako-chan. With your play now guaranteed not to get a second run you need to remind people that you are still out there and *not* cowed by recent events. If nothing else, just a television appearance or two. If you could convince one of them," she nodded to the door, "to join you again then even better. Have something that you *will* be doing even if you have to wait until this 'Shadow' business, whatever it is, blows over."

It was a compelling argument. And having a next job lined up ready would certainly help, especially if she could publicise it beforehand. The question was, "Is there anything that would fit the bill? I mean, no offence, but the people we work for aren't that flexile."

"I have one or two things that might do." Mikiyo took out a couple of folders and look through. "But you'd need to choose soon. While we still have a chance of getting you on television while its relevant. And..."

She looked towards the door again, nervously this time. "Do you think one of the Sailor Senshi would appear with you? If you have one with you anyway... No broadcaster alive would turn that down. I could get us the pick of the programmes."

Minako shook her head though. That was going a bit far. "Sorry, Mikiyo-san. I don't think so. Sailor Neptune-san is only here because it wasn't inconvenient for her work." She leaned forward conspiratorially, "Between you and me, I think they've got enough to do as it is. I just got lucky today. Better they're getting this mess sorted out than giving interviews, right?"

Seeing Mikiyo's imploring look Minako's act wilted, and she let out an all too real sigh. "But, I'll ask. I don't think it's possible, but I'll ask."

"That's all I'm asking," Mikiyo replied, now looking content. "I'll send you the details of those jobs. If you could let me know by tomorrow evening at the latest, along with the answer, and I'll have it set up for you."

Then, before wrapping up, Mikiyo leaned forward over the desk, causing Minako to follow suit. "One thing, Minako-chan. People have been talking for a while now, but Sailor Uranus? She's one of the ones you know, right? That you can get in contact with?"

"Y-yes?"

"At least one of the Sailor Senshi has been seen every night for months now, but not her. And the last time anyone saw her was with you, when you gave that last interview after you got back. Is she okay? She didn't get in trouble because of that, did she? I just wondered, if that was why they won't give another interview?"

Minako gave a sigh of relief. "No, that's not it. I haven't seen much of her either, recently. They all have their own things to do right now, so I'll bet she's just busy with that."

"Good, as long as that's all it is. Now, get home safe and let Sailor Neptune-san get back to whatever she's doing to stop these kidnappers."

"Will do, Hakano-san!"

000

Like most of the others Hotaru still had school to attend. The more she studied the further she outstripped the curriculum, but there was always more to learn if she just opened the next level of text book. She was not the voracious student that Ami was, but the faint, blurry memories of the life she'd lived before Mistress 9 and Pharaoh 90 had rendered a great deal of her last four years of school somewhat moot. Having turned sixteen only a month before (and hadn't she been showered with gifts by her parents - all four of them!) graduation to High School was her next imminent academic road bump. While she would study dutifully there was little worry from her parents that she might have trouble with the end of year exams.

More of a concern was that she was moving classes *again*, to a whole new school this time. At least she seemed to be ageing more properly now, and that would hopefully not be an issue any more. But still, it was one more lot of friends that she would likely leave, only to have to make new ones all over again. And find herself another club there to belong to, and try not to draw too much attention with her psychic healing, her Senshi work, or her excess of mothers.

The last of which she didn't have a hope of succeeding at, given their high profile lives, but as long as she didn't boast there might not be a problem. Hopefully.

Such were the worries that rolled around in her mind in the bathroom between classes. The thought never crossed her mind that she might have had more immediate concerns right then, specifically the fact that, for those few minutes, there was no-one else in the bathrooms with her, and she was very much alone.

The school was a very visible and public place, difficult even for people with the powers of absolute stealth to permeate without alerting *someone* to their presence. Much in the same was Makoto's workplace was, or the University Ami was driven to every few days.

She had also left her school bag in her desk, not thinking that it might be needed for that one moment. The fact that her communicator now rung from within it was a situation she had never expected to encounter with quite the urgency that Sailor Pluto called her.

"Ah, my dear daughter, how you have grown!"

Hotaru spun on her heels at the very male voice coming from within the stall that had just been opened, and she backed up against the sink. "What? Who's in here, you pervert!"

His hands in his lab coat pockets, Berserk - once Tomoe Souichi - stepped out. The Shadow now shrouded him completely, except for the blinding reflection of his glasses, and crept down beneath his coat in an intricate weave of black upon black.

"Dear Daughter, that's no way to speak to your father. No, clearly my parental expertise are needed if that's how you talk to your elders."

Hotaru's eyes became saucers of confusion and inner conflict. She knew exactly what this man must be, his face covered in blackness even in that well lit room, but, "P-papa?"

"That's right, Hotaru my sweet." Berserk's hands rose from his coat, and though cuffed with the same blackness they were still pale skin. "I've come to take you back, my Hotaru-chan. Back where you belong, at MY side."

That sudden outburst of anger came and went in an instant. "All is forgiven, and I have much to teach you now."

Knowing what she had to do, whether this was her father or not, Hotaru's hand went do to her side only to find no bag there. Her transformation pen was in her desk.

Seeing her hesitation Berserk stepped forwards, reaching out with a long, powerful arm, and from it rose ropes of the same blackness that covered him from head to foot. "No time for fancies, Daughter! We have much to accomplish!"

As the blackness reached out to her Hotaru did the one thing she could to ensure that someone somewhere would help her, even just by witnessing what was to follow.

She screamed.

000

To her horror, after having been spared the worst result of Souichi's abduction for over two ignorant weeks, Meiou Setsuna arrived at the school a mere three minutes too late.

000

Sailor Pluto had followed the ever more convoluted trail of Shadow essence for over an hour before she finally admitted defeat. For all her precognitive power - for her absolute control over time, if she dared to use it - she couldn't prevent Hotaru's abduction. Nor had anyone within the school, not that those hysterical students would have had even the slightest chance.

But this disaster had not altered the destiny that was to come. It had just been one of the innumerable possibilities out there, along with the unlikely capture of any other member of the Sailor Senshi. Their victory was still all but ensured, and the rise of Crystal Tokyo still dominated their distant future. Whatever her personal feelings on the matter, this was no time to abuse her powers.

So, Setsuna stood silent with the women under her care, her co-parents she had sometimes called them, letting the news sink in. Haruka and Michiru's outrage had abated, and in its place the air was thick with hostile grief. Hotaru was *their* daughter, damn it, and no matter who he was the Shadow who had taken her would pay for it.

Ami was the sole source of optimism in that hospital room. "Please, let's not lose hope so soon. We will find her. It is just a mater of time. Our map is growing larger and more accurate by the day, and if nothing else Hotaru-chan will give us another trail to follow."

While it helped to lift Haruka and Michiru's heavy hearts, Setsuna's concern was greater than just for the girl's safety. "That may be, but we all know who she is. If she retains that power, even if I cannot see her using it now, reclaiming her might be the most difficult task we face against them."

"Minako-chan didn't fight us," Haruka noted, gripping Michiru's hand both to comfort her and draw strength. "We can still hope that Hotaru won't either. She knows how much she means to us."

"So does Souichi," but for all her dark words, that had lit a fire back under Setsuna's furnace. "Ami-chan, shell we go tonight? I would like to follow the trail from school again, with you this time."

"Of course." Ami only smiled. "She's my daughter too, now."

000

The war between Tomoe Hotaru and the fragment of Shadow within her had lasted until nightfall, driving the girl back and forth from unconsciousness for what had remained of the day.

Unlike her father and his student carer, the Shadow had no purchase in her psyche; no dark corners to anchor to and draw up to subsume her mind. It had tried, her mind - like all others - was not without its hidden flecks of darkness and despair, but unlike all others there was the blade of a glaive and a guardian's spirit protecting them. The shadow was cunning, manipulative and keen, but it lacked the strength to beat back the pure heart of a Sailor Senshi.

It needed help, and so it brought Berserk, another part of itself, to end his mad evasive flight across the city and return to his daughter for the night ahead. There, in the empty Ginza department store, amid the linen and pillows, he could work his craft as only he could.

He, once a master of demons, of life energy, and of Chaos itself.

Fitting.

Still shrouded in blackness, Berserk pulled a ten yen coin from the pocket of his still-white coat, and plucked a thread from the bedding that he lay Hotaru on. Together they made a quaint pendulum, bringing his smile back to his face, and a lilting tune to his lips.

"Rock a-by Senshi, deep in the night,

"Time now to wake, relinquish the fight,

"Listen, my voice shall guide you to fall,

"And up then shall rise my daughter once more."

000

Little more than a half hour later, and Dracul and the Shadow that had once been Rika Ooyama found them still there. Hotaru sat with vacant eyes on the edge of the bed, now wearing a lavender night dress that she had picked herself. Opposite her, sitting forward on his simple wooden chair, Berserk's soft, dulcet tones and gently swaying pendulum had done their work.

"You are still at play, Berserk?"

"Not at all! Not at all. My Hotaru-chan has joined us now, Sailor Senshi or no! All it required was a little sleep, and the correct application of subconscious suggestion."

The Rika shadow, slow, gaunt and sallow faced, approached them and turned her gaze to the girl. A weight of resentment and unending exertion had hunched Rika's shoulders, and the Shadow's blackness did not clothe her, but drip from her limp arms and pool hazily around her mouth, eyes and feet. Apathy and thanklessness after so many years of dutiful and kind-hearted work had been the dark crutch she had given the Shadow, and it had twisted her in kind.

Hotaru did not even turn her eyes in response.

"Hypnosis? Is she even awake? How useful can she be?"

Berserk tutted. "Now now, Juon, she is quite awake. And quite capable, I assure you. She is my blood, after all! Come now, this is Dracul, and Juon, Father's colleagues. Won't you introduce yourself?"

In response Hotaru finally rose, toppling slightly before righting herself, as if playing while half asleep. Her mouth rose into a soft, slight smile, her eyes still somewhere else entirely.

"Nice to meet you. I am Miss Dream."

"Yes, that's right." Berserk clapped, giggling. "A lovely dream."

000

Haruka had thought that waiting was the worst part. Waiting for updates from her fellow warriors about her missing daughter; Waiting for the doctors' next visit and the postponement of her return home; Waiting for Ami or Michiru to visit and give her words of love and encouragement, allowing her to do the same.

But no, worse was the anticipation, knowing the inevitable answer but being unable to do anything but sit back and let it happen. That was not Tenoh Haruka. She was proactive, and faced the world head on, like a locomotive meeting a wall of styrofoam bricks.

"Okay, are we sure now?" she asked the doctor, now that she had got her breath back again.

Said doctor nodded. "Yes, she's coming, whether she's ready or not."

Haruka sighed. The butterflies in her stomach, which had replaced her latest contraction, intensified as that dreadful anticipation grew worse. "Damn it, Miranda-chan, impatient even before you're born? She'll be okay, though, right?"

The doctor nodded. "She'll have to go into an incubator in ICU for several weeks, and I wouldn't try to suppress labour after your abruption. But she should be fine."

Haruka nodded, waiting nervously for the next pain to hit. But it was still early, and she had time to make the phone call herself.

"Hi, Ami? Remember those Braxton-Hickses I was complaining about yesterday? They decided to go big-time as of three hours ago. Miranda is just really damned early."

000

To Be Concluded...

000

Please leave a review with any comments and constructive criticism you may have. They are always greatly appreciated, and there is no better reward for a writer than to hear back from the readers.

(c) Nutzoide 2009-2011


	10. Illumination!

World Shaking: Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Sailor Moon or anything that comprises it. This is a non-profit story written solely for my own enjoyment and that of anyone who wishes to read it. The story and original characters are mine. Please don't use them without permission.

000

World Shaking

- A Sailor Moon Fan-Fiction by Nutzoide -

Chapter 10: Illumination!

Aid, Answers, and the Inevitable

Tenoh Miranda was born on the 27th of March at 6.12pm, after six hours of labour. Though it had seemed like a hell of a lot longer at the time. Haruka thanked both her stars and her patron planet that Miranda had been in such a rush to meet the world, because any more of that would have been unbearable.

But she'd only had a brief moment to say hello to the tiny little girl that was Miranda from behind the plastic of the ICU chamber before the nurses had whisked her away. Ami followed in hot pursuit as soon as her monitoring of Haruka's own condition had been done do her satisfaction, but she did at least pause to offer congratulations more heartfelt that a mere medical student ought to.

God, how Haruka wanted to hold her. Even for just a moment. But she'd known that was coming, and just held Michiru's hand as the nurses had cleaned her up and allowed her to regain her modesty before leaving her to recover as best she could. That was until Usagi's head poked around the door, grinning from ear to ear.

Several hours and one meal later, and all three parents stood outside the intensive care unit, Haruka in her temporary wheelchair surrounded by what seemed like every friend she had in the world. Miranda lay in her closed cot being fed oxygen while she slept, red and wrinkled and so very small, even compared to the other children in the little cubicles next to her. Little baby hands lay curled up by her head, and every now and then a leg would twitch or stretch as she dreamed whatever it was that new-born babies dream of.

"You know, I don't think she'll be playing basketball after all, Haruka-kun," Minako joked, equal parts wide eyed and gooey hearted. "Soccer maybe?"

"Just you wait," Haruka replied, more smug and contented than she had felt for a long, long time. "We Tenohs get some crazy growth spurts, I can tell you. I'll get her playing something."

Michiru's beaming smile grew into a grin. "The piano maybe?" Another baby in the house, and this time she would stay a baby for a good long while. She just hoped that they would be able to take Miranda home soon. Their family had been absent, at least in part, for far too long.

Michiru took Haruka's hand again, and behind the chair she found Ami's as well. They were in public, but damn it, her Haruka had just made her a mother a second time over, and it was Ami of all people who had made it happen. She was allowed to be emotional! "God, I wish Hotaru was here."

It was Usagi who managed to reassure her first, no doubt at all in her voice. "She will be, Michiru-san. Soon. I promise. You'll wait to see your big sister, won't you Miranda-chan? Yes you will! I'm sure you'll be a patient little girl now."

000

"I'm jealous."

Rei looked across the shrine's kotatsu table, and across the remains of their very late supper. The had stayed at the hospital until the staff had thrown them all out, and only then had any of them considered letting their warm and fuzzy thoughts of babies go. Makoto obviously hadn't succeeded quite yet.

"Well, all those wretched exams are over. We can go and visit them again tomorrow."

"After work."

"Alright. I'll come and visit you at work, and then we'll go and visit Haruka-san and Miranda-chan."

"And the shrine?"

What did that matter, Mako-chan? "It won't open for the day. We only *just* finished those exams. I've been closing every few days for the last month."

Since Grandpa died, in fact. Not that she could voice that yet. It still hurt, not having him around to look after her, and give her someone besides Usagi to berate. Her father had sent her a letter, part condolence and part family sympathy, but he hadn't shown his face yet. He would, eventually, but not until well after she had needed any familial support. She had tried not to resent his absence for a long time, but once she had started it was hard to even think of stopping.

Enough of that. She was making herself maudlin again, and it didn't suit her. Besides, she had other ways of keeping her mood subdued. "You know, you won't get to join her in motherhood if you're dating me, Mako-chan."

"Yeah, I was thinking that too. You're not worried I'm going to walk out on you now, are you?"

In her current state of mind Rei had to admit it, "Yeah. A little."

Makoto reached across the table for her hand, and Rei was relieved to give it. "Then stop it. I am not in the least bit done with you yet. You're not, are you?"

It was a guileless question. Makoto clearly didn't believe she would. She was right, but still... That made her doubts seem petty and unfair. Not that it mattered. "No. I am so madly, deeply, head-over-heeds in love with you that even babies won't stop me holding on to you."

The effect was immediate, and guaranteed. Makoto's deep, full body blush blossomed before Rei had even finished, leaving her a quivering wreck as she stared back across their little heated table. When in doubt, tease them. That had always been Rei's way, and damn, if it didn't work at treat sometimes. Rei felt her doubts and lingering melancholy melt away as Makoto tried to speak, only to find herself tripping over her own words.

"Oh, y-you are, are you? Then my plan worked. Brilliantly. Fantastic... Really?"

"Of course 'really' you dolt! Why else would I keep asking you over to sleep here!"

Makoto's red-faced fumbling came to an end, and her answer was clear and accurate. "Because you were lonely. And I wasn't going to let you get away with that."

God damn her, turning the tables as always. "Yeah, I was lonely. So what? My Grandpa died, damn it."

Rei regretted that little remark as soon as she'd said it. She hadn't intended to sound bitter, because she certainly hadn't felt it, but that was how it must have sounded if Makoto's humbled expression was anything to go by.

"I know. And if I knew how to make you feel better, I would. Believe me, I would."

And perversely, Rei knew exactly how she could, as well. But it was selfish, short sighted, and didn't take into account the fact that Makoto might be in love with her, but she had a life to lead as well. A life that included a job, another year of schooling before she graduated, and then whatever career her life would follow on from that. Asking her to give up the possibilities that offered just to live there in an old shrine just seemed like asking too much.

"I know you would. Sorry, I'm just broody and all mixed up." She sighed, and started clearing away their bowls, and without a moment's hesitation, or a word from either of them, Makoto did the same.

"So what are you going to do with your spring break when we aren't hunting Shadows?" Rei asked, hoping to move the conversation somewhere less worrisome. She knew the likely answer anyway, and it would be nice to hear it.

"Stay on with Matsubashi-san and try to make up time. Sell some of my old junk at home." She smirked. "Come over here and annoy you."

"Well, the door's always open, and you know where the shrine maiden outfits are."

Makoto edged her way to the sink, and took the washing up duties away from her. How wonderful was she? Very, was the answer Rei come up with. A proper domestic goddess, who didn't know just how appreciated she was.

Makoto nodded as she worked. "I'll take you up on that. I look good in those."

"True. Even if people ask whether we're teaching judo here when you do."

"I can't do both?"

"Not in my shrine you don't." Rei sighed, giving each bit of crockery a cursory wipe before slotting it away in its proper place. She might have left them to drain, but then Makoto liked to keep the kitchen tidy. And since she cooked there more than Rei did – if what Rei did could really be called cooking with any sort of likeness at all to Makoto's – Rei tried not to let her own lazy habits make more work for her girlfriend than they already did.

But Rei wasn't finished there. She still felt subdued, broody and in need of comforting, even as Makoto did all the work for her. How much did that suck? Well, no chasing tonight then, she decided. They were both tired enough as it was with their nightly excursions, and since they both had the night off she might as well take the metaphorical bull by its horns and just come out with it. Subtly be damned.

"Mako, do you want to have sex tonight?"

Yep, that full body blush was back with a vengeance as Makoto dropped a glass back into the washing water. "R-Rei?"

"I could do with it. And you've been waiting on me a lot. Unless you're too tired."

"...N-No. I'd like to. That was... daring."

Rei shrugged, smiling kindly after that little embarrassment bomb. "You know me, I'll speak my mind. And I told you, right? I love you, and it's been a little lonely around here without you."

Makoto looked down to her with those beautiful green eyes. "Um, sorry."

"Don't be silly. We've both had a lot to do. I'm just being honest. Now give me that glass before you wear it away to nothing."

"Heh, right. Mind on the task, Kino-san."

000

There had been one significant flaw in Mamoru's plan when he had first suggested laying an ambush for the shadow that stalked them, just as they stalked it. In order to have the beast enter their trap, they had to lay bait that the beast wanted.

For the first time in his life he had wanted to be caught, and for the first time his enemy just wasn't interested!

So the plan had been abandoned, in favour of splitting their nightly force into two or even three teams if they had enough people there to help. The shadow following them was not actually *doing* anything as far as they could tell, but they could confound its attempts at reconnaissance at least. Perhaps then they might have more luck tracking the rest of their quarry, and hopefully catch this stalker of theirs when he came out in support of his master.

That was until Usagi realised who *would* be better bait. No-one had suggested it simply because putting their princess up for grabs was a risk they just couldn't take. After all, there was no real guarantee that they could close their trap in time. Even Mamoru had understood that.

Usagi was having none of it. If they were willing to risk anyone at all, especially her beloved Tuxedo Kamen, then she should be willing to take the same risk. And she was going to do it, whether her friends and guardians liked it or not. She was going to prove Mamoru's suggestion right, and she was going to do it alone if she had to. Not that she wanted to in the slightest, they all knew that, but it had been a very effective method of persuasion.

So, one again, the appearance of a lone Senshi on patrol was crafted while her cavalry hid and followed as best it could, trying to stay out of sight of the enemy who they wouldn't even be able to see approach.

The trick, Tuxedo Kamen had told her, was not to wait for an attack. As soon as she heard, smelt or sensed *anything* that could be their target on the same roof as her, then she should give the signal. Sailor Mercury would then blanket the roof with freezing mist, hopefully unveiling their target, and then he and Sailor Venus would subdue him with every power at their disposal, everyone else appearing only to surprise the Shadow, and corral him back into their ambush.

Now came the hard part. Waiting. His girlfriend, fiancee and future queen was quite possibly in very real and unknown levels of danger, possessing the Silver Crystal which, while capable of saving her life should something go wrong, could also prove catastrophic if it fell into enemy hands. *Any* of them was expendable if it came to that, except *her*.

But, to her credit, the plan worked. The single quiet but distinct sound of a landing drew Sailor Moon's attention from the sights around her to the roof behind, and she spun around. In her hand was not her sceptre, not yet, but a flashlight, and its sudden bright beam lit up the spot she'd heard noise from as Sailor Mercury's target. Moments later that entire roof, as well as every one around it, was blanketed by Mercury's Shabon Spray Freezing.

Tuxedo Kamen had been expecting the sudden cold as that icy mist hit him, but his target hadn't, and she let out a gasp. The Shadow was a woman! The shifting trace of vapour that followed betrayed her flight from the roof and into an alleyway below, and Tuxedo Mask sped after her, just as Sailor Venus did. The Shadow would have had lead enough to flee after falling those four stories while her pursuers caught window ledges and fire escapes to manage their descent, but Koan stood at the exit to the alleyway, disguised should she have to do what she now did out there in public.

Seeing the pursuit head her way she raised both hands, and with a flick of her wrists her long unused magic poured out.

"Dark Fire!"

A wall of black flame, fifteen feet high erupted from the ground, and sent a fireball up to meet the night sky. Behind it she stood and smirked as she heard the sound of feet slip on the paving of the ally and double back. The fire was intense, and the ball of flame that had risen with it had put paid to any attempt to leap over.

Now at ground level Mamoru ran to meet his invisible opponent, holding out his cane for a high swing at her. His quarry slid beneath his attack...

And right into the Love-Me Chain that Sailor Venus shot out. The chain tightened around something, and Venus struggled for a moment, but by that point the chase was over. Mamoru grabbed the floating end of the chain and helped hold it fast, wary of any attack that might come his way as he held what turned out to be the woman's wrist.

"That's enough," he commanded as the rest of their ambush descended to make clear how outnumbered the Shadow was. "Either you hold still for Sailor Moon, or you'll be unconscious while she restores you."

To their collective surprise, the woman's voice was low and similarly strong. "No, remove the Shadow and you'll kill me."

The illusion faded, and standing there with Venus' chain around her wrist was Ono Marya. Or what had once been Ono Marya. She wore a black suit, complete with the crimson-lined cape that had been part of her costume as Narrator for the Midnight Garden's play. A black patch covered her left eye, the one that had been pierced when her energy draining crystal had exploded. "I know you don't like to kill, but Dracul took the last of my energy for his own. The Shadow is all that keeps me alive."

"Marya-sempai?" Sailor Venus asked in shock. "*You've* been hunting us?"

"Not hunting. I can't kill Dracul myself. He only gave me the most meagre of fragments of his power. But your crystal."

She pointed to the Silver Crystal that sat within Sailor Moon's sceptre. "That can. For six years I've studied such crystals, like this one." She turned up her eye patch, and in place of her ruined eye sat the fat sliver of green crystal, still embedded there. "This once held our energy, Sailor Venus, but now it holds back the Shadow. Keeps it from spreading itself out and taking me like it has the Berserk, Juon and the new girl."

She smiled. "The shadow is weak. It can't even keep hold of its own dark energy. Let me free, and lend me your crystal. I can destroy them all."

Mamoru frowned, "Assuming we believe you, you know the names of the other Shadows? 'Dracul' is..?"

"The core of the Shadow. In my father. The scientist is now Berserk. The care girl is Juon. I have not seen the new girl yet, but I know they have one."

"But you have seen them?"

Marya nodded. "We can hide from you, but not from each other. It was you who helped me track them, but once I had found them, I know I could not win." She held a hand to her heart. "My shadow is too weak. Too subservient to them. I could feel it."

"Then help us find them," Sailor Moon replied. "We can defeat them together. I'm sure we can get your energy back if we do that."

Marya shook her head. "He *ate* it, girl. All that's left for me to do is finish what I never should have started. I will kill him myself!"

"And we'll help, Marya-sempai," Minako assured her. "We were always on the same side, remember. Please?"

"Ono Marya is dead, by her own foolish ambitions. Let the Onos rest in peace. They... Dracul calls me Vampiru. It is much more fitting."

"But you'll help us? Work together."

"I will lead you to them. As long as I face Dracul myself."

000

Though it was not quite so easy, Marya made good on her word. With Sailor Venus' communicator tucked in Marya's breast pocket so that they could keep her movements traceable she became their tracker hound, accompanying them the first two nights to relocate the Shadows' trails. Then, one quiet patrol at 7pm, she vanished into the night, bolting after their invisible quarry and drawing Sailors Moon, Mars, Jupiter and Neptune into hot pursuit.

Venus trusted Marya – Vampiru, now – and that was good enough for Sailor Moon, so they hung back as best they could while still keeping track of Marya's dark, bounding form. Vampiru would trail this Shadow from a likewise safe distance, and as soon as it came to rest for its nightly activities she would use Venus' communicator to call in the rest of them, especially if there were more than just the one.

The fact that there were five Shadow people now – including Marya – was cause for some concern. Sailor Moon would have to be there regardless to try and reclaim those people if at all possible, and everyone else would be there to run interference and keep them from escaping. Sailor Senshi only; Sailor Moon and, curiously, Sailor Pluto, wanted as few others as possible risking themselves in a direct confrontation. Vampiru, their tracker, was the one exception.

However, keeping up with her was no small feat, as Sailor Moon and her companions now realised. Though they were all fast, the Shadow could both out run them and leap further and faster, so while they wanted to give the Shadows a generous lead to avoid arousing their suspicion, soon they were chasing flat out just to keep up.

"Venus-chan said they were fast, but man!" Sailor Moon puffed as they vaulted across the city suburbs. "No wonder we haven't caught them yet!"

"Just think of it as much needed exercise, dumpling head!" was Sailor Mars' entirely unnecessary comment. "A warm up for the fight!"

"I'll be tired before we even catch them! Where are they even going?"

Sailor Neptune just kept pace. "Either we've been noticed and they're trying to shake us off, or it is somewhere outside central Tokyo altogether. This is taking us towards the main motorway."

"Aww, don't say that Neptune-san!"

"Just think of it this way," Jupiter comforted. "We might not have to do this again after tonight. Not if Vampiru-san is right and they're getting together more now. This could be final battle time!"

Sailor Moon was not convinced by the argument. "That doesn't help, Jupiter-chan. Final battles are hard."

000

It seemed like poetic justice that, an hour and a half later, the last of the Sailor Senshi appeared in the vacant car park of the closed Midnight Garden. Haruka was exempt – it had only been five days since Miranda's birth, and Haruka's sister was scheduled to meet her there at the hospital after school that same evening – and Sailor Pluto had left the matter in the rest of their capable hands. If anything happened while the rest of them were gone, it would be Sailor Pluto's responsibility to deal with. Making the most of Vampiru uncovering this hideout was more important for the rest of them.

Not that the Shadows had been coming here at all before tonight – according to Sailor Mercury's map only one of them was returning a second time - but Sailor Jupiter had a sneaking suspicion that the place was now, for all intents and purposes, their lair. "What are the chances that this Dracul has a fondness for poetic stuff, and led us here on purpose?"

"Maybe," Sailor Moon agreed. "But Vampiru didn't say she'd been spotted."

"She might not have noticed." Neptune took the lead, eager to see if Hotaru lay somewhere behind those gates. "But she didn't wait for us. And if she wasn't seen then we should get moving, in case she gives us away."

000

Haruka tucked her communicator away in the pocket of her suit trousers and stepped out of the hospital toilet stall. Just because she hadn't been allowed to call Maki and reorganise the girl's visit didn't mean she couldn't keep track of the rest of the Senshi's progress. She'd been fit to join them, she knew. Her body had recovered from Miranda's birth with gratifying speed, but Ami and Michiru had made a combined stand. She was to remain behind, stay with Miranda as usual, and continue to build bridges with her sister. The Shadows, once revealed and cornered, seemed not to be difficult opponents. They would be fine, as long as someone was there to look after their little daughter.

Good luck, girls, she thought as she headed back to the window into the incubation chambers. Haruka believed in being safe rather than risk losing, so she had been tempted to go regardless. Better to pull out all the stops and guarantee a victory, whether it was a race, a date, or a fight. No half measures.

But then, she didn't want to leave Miranda unattended. And until it was safe to take her home that meant spending as much time as she could allow herself at the hospital. Impatience was getting to her, she had admitted. She wanted to show her baby the nursery she, Michiru and Ami had put together for her, and do more than hold her little hand for a few minutes a day. Feed her.

Imagine that. Tenoh Haruka breastfeeding? Or trying to, at least. That wasn't something she was going to share with the photographers or journalists.

Every time the elevator arrived on that floor she spared a glance to see if it was Maki in her school uniform again, and eventually the girl did arrive. Twenty minutes late in the end, but then she did have to cross a fair bit of Tokyo to get there.

"Big sister! Hey, you're looking great!"

That made Haruka smile. She'd been consciously trying to lose the weight that she'd gained as soon as she was free to choose her own meals again and get back to doing some light exercise at the very least. Being able to walk for more than a few minutes without getting out of breath was a great relief, and she could now touch her toes - and most of her legs – without that huge stomach in the way!

Not that it was all going to be so easy. Her tummy itself wouldn't be back to its natural trimness for a while, if ever, so she was still wearing the few suits she had that could hide it convincingly.

"Thanks, Maki-chan. Here." Haruka beamed with maternal pride. "There she is. Your precocious little niece."

"Awww! She's so tiny! Not like you at all!"

"Thanks for that. Don't worry, she'll be putting on weight as fast as we can manage it. That's what she gets for turning up six weeks early."

"Six weeks? I knew she was premature, but wow. You must have been worried."

Haruka shook her head. "A little, but we were in the right place for it. And had good doctors to look after her."

Maki nodded and beamed at the fidgeting bundle some more. "Speaking of, isn't Mizuno-sensei around? Or Kaioh-san? I thought I'd be meeting them."

"Mizuno-san had other, better behaved babies to monitor before they decide to join the rest of the world. And Michiru... you know how us famous types are. Something came up."

"I guess. So, can we talk over dinner? I haven't eaten yet."

Haruka would have made a quip about hospital food if she hadn't seen who had just stepped out of the elevator.

000

The park basked in the clear moonlight, every budding leaf and stray weed glistening silver. Le FEI had employed several underpaid grounds keepers to keep the place usable in order to protect the land investment, but even so nature needed no monetary incentive to reclaim the park. What staff there were fought a losing battle, and would continue to lose it until plans for the parks future could be decided on, and proper money could be spent on upkeep once again.

Not that it wasn't pretty as it was, in Sailor Moon's opinion. Not as clean and orderly, but flowers didn't need orderliness to be pretty. She sighed. This was no time to be admiring the grounds though. Whichever Shadow Vampiru had followed, he was there somewhere.

And if he was anywhere, it would be the mansion. As Sailor Jupiter had said, it would be a poetic place for this fight to end. Vampiru might have disappeared, leaving them no further advice, but Mercury could follow the still coherent trail of her Shadow energy signature, and it agreed with Jupiter.

The staff entrance, around the back of the building, was sealed with police tape still. None of the Shadows, friend or foe, and entered by that route, but if Sailor Moon's guess was right it would be the quickest way to their destination.

It was also, Venus told them, the only entrance to the mansion that did not have multiple exits being that it was also the facility fire exit. If the Shadow was inside he could not sneak up on them or flee without going through the access into main haunted house, where Vampiru must have entered.

The six of them split into pairs to check through the office space. They did not expect to find anyone there, but it was the cautious thing to do. Rather than exhaust Mercury with Shabon Sprays they each had their communicators ready, modified as they were to pick up any Shadow energy. Even invisible, a Shadow in the same room as them would show up, simply by the strength of the reading they would get.

Suddenly Sailor Moon's communicator bleeped, and she had brought her sceptre up before she realised it was a call and not a positive reading.

"Tuxedo Kamen-sama?"

"Sailor Moon, I have scouted the building perimeter, and sealed every door and window there is. If they exit, I will call you again."

Why hadn't she thought of that? "Thank you, Tuxedo Kamen-sama."

"Good Luck."

Sailor Mars looked similarly thankful, her own sweep complete. "I'm glad we have someone communicative up there."

From the offices they had two options: up to the living quarters and the back door into the attraction, or down to the ruins of Marya's old laboratory. But as much as down might have been the obvious answer, there was only the one way there – the elevator – and there was no sign that any of the Shadows had used it.

"So up then? Why up there?"

The answer became evident very soon. From the top of the stairs the readings became strong again, and the six Sailor Senshi crept along waiting for them to lead into one of the doors along the way. They didn't, until they reached the double doors at the far end of the L-shaped hallways.

"Marya-sempai's office..."

There was nothing for it. Sailor Moon took a deep breath, her sceptre in her hands, and pushed through the doors.

The Shadow creature that now called itself Dracul sat in Marya's grand chair, his hands resting comfortably on its arms. "Welcome, warriors of light. It seems my daughter keeps poor company these days."

Sailor Moon stood fast as her guardians flowed into the room behind her. "You knew we were coming? And you didn't try to escape this time?"

"A man cannot run forever, and you and I have an old score to settle, Princess."

"How so?" Neptune asked, already pulling her mirror talisman from the magical space it resided, and preparing her cast her signature spell.

Dracul got to his feet. Not urgently or with the slightest threat, but at his own steady pace, his eyes never once leaving Sailor Moon's face. "You once faced off against a pawn of mine, Princess Serenity. A pawn I was willing to sacrifice in order to bring myself to your world, and tear down your unborn crystal kingdom.

His tone turned vicious. Predatory. "But, I have to give you credit. You worked fast. Too fast. The merest fragment of me arrived before you excised Pharaoh 90 from the universe. A feeble trace, unfit to stand against you even then. So I hid. I fled Japan in a holidaying entrepreneur, but he had little interest in the powers I required. His daughter, however; she had an affection for jewellery. The man died in a boating accident, and I took the young woman. Influenced her, subtly. Brought her here when a mass of energy crystals larger than even I would require was brought to this world by your youma friends. And years after Galaxia had made such a hash of killing you for me.

"With a crystal large enough, and energy to fuel me, I would have the power to breach the dimensions myself once more, and siphon my being into this dead husk. But no, despite my influence the daughter was careless, hasty and blinded by ambition. She wasted my one chance, and the siphon remained open for only a spare moment. But enough to take this corpse, and to take hold over the few humans who could complete the job properly."

Sailor Moon stood astonished. It had to be a lie. "Pharaoh 90? Galaxia? They worked for you?"

"Not that they knew, perhaps. I just helped set them on a path that should have brought *me* here."

"But why would you do that? Who *are* you?"

Dracul smiled, spreading his arms wide. "Why should I need a reason? I am the beginning of everything, and the end of this absurd little universe. I am Chaos!"

That pronouncement signalled the start of the battle, and the Senshi fanned out around the room as Dracul pulled a shroud of blackness around him.

But Sailor Neptune had one very important observation to make, "Whatever Chaos may be, you are still only a fraction of it, or else you would have done something with your crystals already! Your bravado will not fool us! Deep Submerge!"

Sailor Neptune's torrent of water poured over the obsidian cocoon Dracul had wrapped around himself, stripping strings of Shadow from it, intent that they should not leave him a moment to retaliate.

Sailor Moon was of a similar mind, and had already begun her cleansing spell to take effect as soon as Dracul's shell had been stripped away. Her Healing Escalation was too tiring, and she could not afford to have whatever defence Drcaul had put up managing to withstand it.

Sailor Venus was ready to take over, a her finger pointed for a Crescent Beam that she hoped could put a hole in the black shield, but as Neptune's attack dissipated there was a loud crunch from the wall to her left, and then another came. They all turned to see a pair of thin arms burst through the wall, slick with liquid Shadow, to ensnare Sailor Mercury, and with a cry Mercury was hauled bodily through the wall, to vanish behind a cloud of plaster and falling timber.

Dracul had clearly been waiting for that moment because his shroud unfurled that very instant into enormous claw-tipped wings and he lunged at Sailor Moon. His face, for the instant she saw it, was no longer human, but something black, fanged and monstrous. He had lunged for her neck and only a sharp shove from Sailor Mars had saved her throat, but his clawed wings still raked down her sides. The force of the attack threw them into the doors, taking them off their hinges. When they came to rest Sailor Moon found herself pinned down, lying on the floor.

"I don't need power to kill you," Dracul hissed. "Just one bite will do it!"

"Burning Mandala!"

Dracul screeched as six rings of fire tore into his back, one after another, and in animal reflex he turned on his attacker. Sailor Mars tensed, ready to dive away, but her job wasn't to take Dracul down. Just keep him away from Sailor Moon. She might have been afraid to kill youma or the possessed Shadows, but this creature had just tried to rip Sailor Moon's throat out.

"Come on, bat freak!"

She started to dodge, but paused when Dracule didn't follow. He just stared at his all too bat-like image. "Damn her! Damn that woman, and her wretched ANIMAL!"

It was with all too bestial fury that Dracul lunged again, at Sailor Mars this time, only to be knocked aside when Venus's new Crescent Beam slammed into his chest. "And that's for killing Marya-sempai's pet you bastard!"

Across the room both Jupiter and Neptune has run for the hole that Sailor Mercury had disappeared through. Inside the Shadow stood hunched over their comrade, her hands wrapped around Mercury's throat. Long black hair hung limp and wet over the Shadow's face, and the Shadow stuff that dripped from her ran down her arms, wrapping across Mercury's chest, and squeezing. On the floor in front of her Mercury could do nothing but gasp for air as her lungs were crushed.

"Jupiter Oak Evolution!"

"Deep Submerge!

Two magics met midway to create a torrent of electrically charged water that tore Juon's hands from Mercury's neck and threw her off her feet to land against the far wall. Mercury choked once before taking a single heaving breath. "Sh-shine Aqua Illusion."

The Juon Shadow didn't even try to dodge. She simply rose and took one plodding step towards them as the icy water that struck her froze arm arms to her body. "You... You can't do this to me... I deserve better... I'll show you."

Jupiter blinked, and lowered her hands. "We... We do want to help you. You know that, right? Sailor Moon can fix this."

Juon just trudged closer, still part frozen. "People don't help... So ungrateful... I'll show them."

"But you help, right?" If this was how the Shadow manipulated her, Sailor Jupiter thought, then maybe she could appeal to the same virtues she preached? "You like helping people."

"Ungrateful..."

"But did that ever stop you?"

Juon's step faltered. "... No."

"So let us help *you* for a change." Sailor Jupiter held out her hand to her. "We'll get you fixed up in no time, you see."

Jupiter's heart was in her mouth as the Shadow's left arm shattered the ice that covered her, and slowly rose to take that hand. Quite what to do now though, she didn't know. "Uh, come on then."

She looked at Mercury and Neptune and the two of them vanished back through the hole, just in time to blast Dracul as he once again leapt at a new target: Sailor Venus.

"Shine Aqua Illusion!"

"Submarine Reflection!"

Dracul hit the wall with a heavy thud, to land unsteadily on his feet. He looked up, just in time to meet Sailor Moon's eyes as she levelled her sceptre at him.

"Moon Healing Escalation!"

The Shadow recoiled from that purifying light, and the word "Refresh!" escaped from Ono Ryu's lifeless lips, to mirror the cry that Ooyama Rika gave as she was similarly cleansed by the cascade of light that filled the room. Ryu's body fell to the floor, no longer host, and the Shadow that had escaped it flew behind the office's desk to hide. In a flash the blackness that had possessed Rika joined it, and the two were joined as one again.

It must have known that its fight was over, because as soon as Sailor Moon stepped forward to try and find it the Shadow leaped at her. It would not be able to control her, it knew that, but it could shut her mind down in the attempt, warring with her Senshi power as it had done with Sailor Saturn. Not for long – the Senshi and Vampiru together would soon find a way to purge it again – but maybe for long enough.

That was until a beam of iridescent light shot from behind Sailor Jupiter, through the hole Juon had made. The light hit the leaping shadow centre mass, and it crumpled to the floor at Sailor Moon's feet.

"Eep!" Sailor Moon stepped away like a housewife from a mouse that had got into her kitchen, and Neptune and Mars but themselves between her and the Shadow. The others turned to watch as Vampiru strode through the hole, weapon in hand. Sailor Venus recognised it as the crystal weapon Kizugi had carried, to protect her with.

Vampiru tweaked something on the device and fired again, and the Shadow shrivelled in upon itself.

"M-Marya-sempai?"

Vampiru stopped and lowered the weapon, standing unafraid in front of the shadow. "I told you, Minako-chan. Ono Marya is dead."

She leant down and a Shadow claw of her own grew from her fingers, picking up the crumpled thing at her feet. As she rose she crushed it in her hand, and once she had brought it up level to the crystal in her eye socket the thing bled away into vapour, absorbed by the broken shard.

"And now, so is he."

Sailor Moon frowned in worry as Vampiru straightened up, obviously invigorated by what she had just done, but the Shadow woman gave her a sudden, comforting, contented smile.

"That was the majority of him. With the right level of energy suffused into him directly, he can be rendered inert. I had tested in on the part of him I gave to Vesper, and it lost form, taking on her likeness instead. He is now no more than a part of me. My energy, now."

"That's all well and good," Sailor Mars said, interrupting, "but we still have to more of them to find."

"Not here, it seems." Vampiru shrugged. "They can have only slivers of him within them. We can heal them at your leisure."

"Except that if Dracul doesn't have the stolen crystal fragments, they do."

All eyes turned to Sailor Venus. "The crystals stolen from the police station, I mean. Marya... Vampiru-san used that one energy gathering crystal to give Chaos power to bring more of himself here. If the other shadows have *all* the crystal pieces the police had quarantined from the Youma's machine, couldn't they do the same? And that much more quickly?"

The Sailor Senshi all looked to one another.

"So, where would they be?" Sailor Jupiter asked.

The answer came when their communicators rang as one, called by Sailor Uranus.

000

Haruka stood frozen, her hand wrapped around the communicator in her pocket as Hotaru and her blood father Souichi approached, the elevator behind them going on its way.

Hadn't the police downstairs noticed? Of course they hadn't, she told herself a split second later. They were Shadows. They could go anywhere they pleased. And with the rest of the Sailor Senshi being led away to fight, that is exactly what they had done.

To paraphrase many a pertinent saying regarding situations like this; Bugger.

So, what now? Get Maki to safety, that was a good start.

"Big Sister? Isn't that..?"

"Yes."

"But isn't she..?"

"Missing, yes."

After having her disappear from school Michiru hadn't exactly been able to cover up Hotaru's kidnapping. A victim of revenge tactics after Haruka had escaped, she'd surmised for the press. They had every faith that the police and the Sailor Senshi would find her, and bring her home. No-one had expected her to return on her own though.

"Little sister, I want you to listen carefully. I want you to run and find Mizuno-sensei, and make sure you both stay well away from here. Get the doctors to evacuate the kids. Go!"

"But..."

"It must be me they want, right? Now RUN!"

Maki did as she was told and took off at a sprint, shouting "Youma!" at the top of her voice all the way to the fire escape stairs. Pushing them open sounded the alarm, and anyone who hadn't fled by that point took the hint.

The scene was chaos. Doctors and nurses ran every which way, and to Haruka's relief several of them did begin to wheel the now screaming infants behind her away into the building. That was something at least. It didn't do Haruka any good, but then she was screwed either way.

Once those doctors had vanished she stepped towards the advancing pair out of sight of the main hallway, and pulled her star topped pen from her pocket. "Uranus Planet Power, Make Up!"

"Bravo, pretender-san." Berserk applauded as her transformation faded. "Though I see you might not be pretending any more. Either way, a magnificent light show. Tell me, which babe would be yours? I would love to meet her."

Sailor Uranus, now restored with arcane confidence, looked to Miss Dream. "The one beside you, naturally. Hello Hotaru."

Miss Dream smiled. "Haruka-papa."

Berserk paused, before stepping forward once more. His lunatic smile tightened, sucking the joviality out of it. "Now now, Little Miss Dream. I'm your father, remember."

"Of course, father. But Haruka-papa is Haruka-papa."

Berserk sighed. "See what you have done to my daughter? Still, you can be the first to sate our blade."

He threw off his lab coat to reveal the black Shadow armour beneath, and at his hip sat a sword, its blade a single shaft of pale, translucent green crystal. Somehow as he had cavorted around Tokyo over those last weeks he had found a way to form the shattered crystals into a single piece, and the blade swung in Sailor Uranus' direction.

Thirty feet away still, Uranus felt the blade as if it had sliced through her chest point blank and she fell to her knees with a cry. Wisps of energy traced the line that the sword had taken across her chest, as if painted into the air by the blade even from a distance. That vital energy then slowly floated away from Uranus, to settle into the crystal sword, bringing to it the faintest inner shine.

Berserk examined the weapon as Sailor Uranus regained her footing. "Yes, I should think this building will fill it nicely. Miss Dream, if you could occupy that would-be parent."

Miss Dream padded over in her slippered feet, the same lavender night dress still swaying with her dazed walk. "You look so brave, Haruka-papa." She spoke almost as if it was a simple lazy observation, and certainly not as if she was speaking to Sailor Uranus. She would never have used Uranus' real name then. "Maybe you could join us too?"

"Hotaru-chan. I don't want to hurt you..."

Uranus' warning belied a lack of hesitation in her words. She *didn't* want to harm her, but she would. However, it would be a last desperate chance, and it would come too late to stop Miss Dream's own attack."

"Hotaru-chan, why don't we-"

She dodged aside as Berserk brought the sword down again, and the shaft of whatever power it projected kicked up the trace of dust from the floor where she'd stood. "-why don't we sit and wait for Sailor Moon to get here. She'll be here soon."

"No, I don't want to wake up yet, Haruka-papa. Won't you come and dream with me?"

Hotaru raised her hand as Sailor Uranus backed against the wall.

"Silent Nightmare."

"World Sha-"

Haruka felt her breathing deepen, and her eyes lost focus, unable to complete her spell. "Hotaru...-chan..."

"It'll be okay Haruka-papa. You'll like it with us. It's fun."

Haruka's mind swam. Yes, it would be nice to be a family again, with her, and Michiru and Ami and Miranda. Oh, God, what would they do to Miranda? "Hotaru-chan... what about... your little sister?"

Above her as she slumped down the wall, Miss Dream's attention turned from her to the room behind the glass. "Little sister? I have a little sister? That would be nice. Where is she?"

Haruka could feel Miss Dream's spell fading as she peered through the glass, but ahead, Berserk had raised his sword again. So that was that. Get here soon, Sailor Moon. While you can still help her.

Then behind Berserk the elevator chimed, and its doors opened.

"Dead Scream."

Sailor Pluto's blast of vibrant green-white magic hit Berserk square between the shoulders and flung him down the hallway. "Uranus! Sorry I'm late."

"About time," Uranus replied groggily before staggering back to her feet. "Don't let him swing that sword at you!"

It was too late to stop Berserk doing exactly that though, spinning on his toes to keep himself upright and swinging the sword two handed across the hall in one wide arc. The power of the crystal blade caught each of them in turn, and Uranus, Miss Dream and Pluto all cried out as their energy was ripped from them."

"Argh, now look what you've done!" Berserk cried, and hurried to the end of the hallway. "Miss Dream, are you alright?"

She could only cringe. "Ow, it hurts! I... I don't like this any more. I want to wake up now daddy!"

"Just bear it a moment more, until I finish the pretenders."

Looking to Sailors Uranus and Pluto, Miss Dream shook her head. "No, I don't want to hurt anyone! I want to WAKE UP!"

And she did. In a burst of light and a cascade of purple-black magic she woke, the magic replacing her night dress with the uniform of Sailor Saturn.

"I'm sorry, father," Sailor Saturn said, her quiet voice aching with regret, "but it's time for you to wake up as well."

She swung her Silence Glaive around to slice clean through Berserk's crystal sword, and then brought its haft down on his head, leaving him to slump unconscious in her arms. The energy that the sword had taken leaked out of its cut faces and back towards its owners, while Sailor Uranus helped Saturn take the unconscious Berserk and rest him against the wall.

Down the corridor the fragment of shadow that had fled Miss Dream skittered from table to chair in a vain effort to escape, but it could not evade Sailor Pluto. She brought the tip of her own weapon down to jab the Shadow, and with a whisper it was caught within the garnet at its head. "You," she said, "are going to be a part of something great."

"Welcome back, Saturn," Uranus said as she wrapped the shorter girl in a hug.

Saturn returned the embrace, if uncomfortably. "We should continue this later. But thank you. You look good. Is she..."

"Being taken to safety right now, I hope. As soon as Sailor Moon gets here, and we can deal with Tomoe-san, I'll take you to see her. You can meet Maki too, at last."

Sailor Saturn smiled in anticipation. She couldn't wait. After all that time asleep, and all those troublesome dreams, she had missed far too much. "Thank you."

000

The furore of the Senshi's latest city centre battle took more than a few days to die down. Commentators talked incessantly about the dangers the Senshi represented in populated areas or their skilful resolution of an unnatural crisis with no casualties beyond the unfortunate victims of what the police were calling the 'Shadow Syndicate'.

Sailor Moon had formally told the police that the crisis was over, and as such the Senshi would no longer be appearing at night, so both Senshi spotters and worried home owners no longer needed to call in suspected sightings. And Senshi spotters ought not to be spotting anyway. It was dangerous, and just a bit creepy.

And most importantly as far as Setsuna was concerned, both Aino Minako and Tenoh Haruka had received letters from those few who had been a part of Marya's little Shadow family. Their secrets were safe, both for the good of the Senshi and, they admitted, understanding that the super heroines would likely not take kindly to their identities being revealed. It had saved Setsuna the need to visit them all. As willing as she was to play the bad cop, knowing its necessity, it wasn't a role she liked. She'd played it far too often to find it enjoyable any more.

Ono Marya – now merely Vampiru – had bid them farewell after taking custody of Berserk's Shadow. She intended to disappear into the night, and let her family name die a peaceful death. Her company was in good hands with her successors, and she needed to think long and hard about what to do with her second chance at life now that she had taken her revenge of the creature that had used her. And they had a number to call, should they feel the need. She would welcome the chance to help using the gifts her newly gathered Shadows had given her, and perhaps in doing so make up for the pain she had caused.

Setsuna sighed, glad that they had set Tokyo to rights once again, and enjoyed the chance to relax at long last. The bell above the door of Vain & Glorious rang as she walked in, and the two sales girls looked up to greet her.

"Welcome, Setsuna-san! How are you doing? Uh, congratulations by the way."

Setsuna smiled. Tyranya really had recovered, after having been just a small part of their little activities. It had given her back some of that lost confidence, and it showed. Her long platinum blonde hair was well combed and styled, her poise straighter, and her long, manicured nails still as immaculate as ever. "Thank you, Tyra-san. You look well, both of you."

Koan flashed her a victory sign, beaming proudly. "We're great. Is there anything we could get you today, or would you like to come back and talk? Calveras is out, as always, but I'm sure Berthier and Petz would love to see you."

"Tea would be lovely, thank you. Then perhaps something for my skin."

"Certainly," Tyranya replied, trotting to the 'Staff Only' door into the back. "Maxill, could you put the kettle on? We have a visitor."

000

The head of Tokyo University's Advanced Sciences Department, Yoyama Shigeru had never shared a room with quite so many very important people in his life. He'd met them all individually of course, either through the university itself or at one of the many socials and lecturing events that the scientific community of Japan indulged in. But to have them all collected in one room?

He cleared his throat as they all approached the end of the papers her had copied to give them all. The dean looked lost of course, he was no theoretical scientist, but several of Shigeru's own peers seemed incapable of reigning in their slackened jaws, and the Prime Minister's scientific advisor had already finished and smiled broadly.

Looking around at the appreciating faces the university dean spoke. "Well, deferring the submission seems to be what you all believe necessary, but couldn't the girl continue these studies after receiving her diploma?"

"With respect, Nao-san, we're not talking about a degree here," Shigeru pointed out. "Given anther year research and development on this work she should be leaving our hall with a doctorate. This is the most important discovery since splitting the atom, and conducted by a fast-tracked undergraduate student with one or two independent sponsors!"

A white haired old researcher, one Asami Anza, looked up and fixed her terribly thick spectacles. She looked at the dean. "Assuming it is all substantiated, Sir, this shouldn't be a question of whether she graduates now or in a year. Give her the degree and her own laboratory, and she'll bring you a home a Nobel prize."

Shigeru could well believe that. "She's relatively well financed already, but another fifty or sixtry million yen on top could give her what energy monitoring equipment she requires, and I could put together a staff for her within a week. To have the scientific breakthrough on life energy, chi – whatever you want to call it – happen here under our wings..."

The dean clearly had no choice, and hearing that sort of prospect sent the blood to his head. "Better tell Mizuno-san then, Shigeru-san. Don't flatter her, and for God's sake don't throw the idea of Nobel prizes at her. Just make sure she can't refuse, and have her graduate next week as normal. I trust we can find some of the finaces for this within Japan?"

The prime minister's advisor nodded. "I'll have the paperwork ready and in action by the new semester. If there is an award to be had for this work, and I think there is, then the Japanese system that taught this girl deserves to see it come home."

The dean nodded. "And of course," he added, eyeing the handful of researchers and scientists there, "if this appears before Mizuno-san is good and ready to publish, we'll know where to look."

There would be no worry there, Shigeru thought. He had called this group specifically because they were all beyond reproach. Ami would need people to verify her findings, and they were among the best. For himself, he hoped she would be willing to have him run her new lab. After tutoring her for the last three years and seeing her work progress, he felt obliged to see it through, even if *she* would be the one educating *him* soon.

000

"Hollywood?" Usagi exclaimed, almost toppling her ice cream Sunday over as she gawped across their table at the crown.

Minako nodded, smiling from ear to ear. "Yeah! I'm thinking I might go for a whole week, you know, make a holiday out of it."

"Aaahh, take me with you! Minako-chan, you can't leave us all here while you dance around America meeting everyone famous!"

Minako shrugged. "If you buy your own tickets. Sure."

Usagi slumped back against the padded bench and stuck another spoonful of ice cream in her mouth, chewing petulantly. "No fair. I can't afford that."

"Then you'll just have to suffer a few days without me. Maybe a week if I feel like pampering myself." She gave her best friend an understanding look. "I know, it'll be hard without me, but you'll survive."

"Besides," she added, this time more seriously, "it's not like I'm already cast for the film or anything. Mikiyo-san says they're casting us asian types and shooting here for authenticity's sake, but it's still Hollywood. God knows whether it'll be any good."

"It's the Sailor Moon movie! It's *got* to be good. You'll make sure they do it right, won't you Minako-chan?"

Minako shrugged. She really didn't know. It was a good director, so they couldn't mess it up too badly, but that was a point in Minako's favour, and why her agent had been able to get her the part. The recent resurgence of Sailor Senshi activity had convinced the studio that it was time to let this man make his 'dramatisation of the Sailor War against Galaxia', and since Minako was known to have connections to at least some of the Senshi – to be friends with them even – she would make a good factual source as well as a potential cast member.

"Well, I hope you get the part," Usagi encouraged, not willing to let her friend's good fortune get her jealous. And if Minako felt the need for a holiday as well, then she should take it. They had all been through a lot recently, Minako more than most of them.

And Minako did feel the need to get away for a bit. Mikiyo had been pushing her hard to get back into the game, and a TV interview coming so soon after their battle against Dracul had drained her quite a bit. And, if she was honest, there was still a bit of guilt rolling around in her too. Not much, but enough that she had used part of her previous interview fund to buy Haruka an apology gift. Yeah, a short holiday abroad and she'd feel right as rain again. Or preferably not rain. Sun would be better.

"So who do you think you'll be?" Usagi asked, having long forgiven and forgotten, as Minako well knew. She was priceless that girl.

"Well, it'll probably be filmed in English, so I guess my accent might count against me if they get a lot of native speakers in."

"What accent? You speak English better than any one of us!"

"Well yeah, but I still have a *little* bit of an accent. But between you and me…" she whispered, making sure no-one else would overhear, "it'll help make it authentic. I'll be auditioning to be you!"

"Oh my God! Mina-chan that's amazing!"

000

"Welp, I guess Usagi-chan told you? Mina-chan's news?"

Makoto nodded, the pair of them sitting on the Hikawa shrine decking. The question was, was there anyone Usagi *hadn't* yet told? Minako hadn't even booked plane tickets to the audition yet, and the story – such as it was - had probably gone around Tokyo twice in the last six hours. "Of course. I hope she gets the part. That would be kind of awesome."

"Yep." Rei sipped her tea. "You do realise this means Usagi-chan is going to be bugging us over the holiday though, right? Well, me, I mean."

Makoto's long suffering girlfriend sighed. She did that a lot, it was part of her nature, but it didn't make it any easier to listen to. Rei had 'long suffering' polished down to an art form. "Never mind holiday," Makoto replied, fully intending to out-do her this time. "You've graduated, and got to look all pretty and educated in that gown. What about us morons who still have a year to go?"

Yep, guilt tripping Rei always worked. No wonder Usagi had become so good at it. "Well if you hadn't got yourself teleported to another dimension like an idiot then you wouldn't need to do the re-take, would you." Rei huffed. "And you're not a moron. Just... academically challenged."

"Oi." That was better, in Makoto's opinion. She could take a joke, and the fact that Rei's cutting tongue often came with a nice almost-complement to balance it out didn't hurt either. "So, what are you going to do now? Look after the shrine?"

Rei nodded. "It's my home. I mean, I own it now, and business hasn't fallen into the red yet. It may be boring, and it's a lot of work just for one person – or two when you're around - but... looking at it, I'm actually not doing badly."

"You could always hire another priest or shrine maiden to help out, Rei. Find a responsible student who needs a part time job. I'm sure Hotaru-chan would take you up on that." Rei's problem of course was that it was still *her* shrine. Hers and her grandfathers. Makoto didn't know whether it was too soon to hire someone else in or what, but Rei had developed a workaholic side, trying to keep the place open as often as possible while she had still been completing her college course.

Rei's reply was quiet. "Or maybe you'd like to stop paying rent?"

Makoto blinked, blushing suddenly at what she thought she heard. "Huh? Rei-chan, did you just ask me to move in?"

"Well it *would* save you the rent on your apartment, and all the bus fares to pay getting here so often." Rei justified her little outburst a bit too loudly, marching on even as she seemed to be second guessing herself. "Not that we've been together that long, and I know you've still got school and work and everything, so it's not like you'd actually have any more time to help out here. But there's a lot of space here just going to waste, even if I did hire another shrine maiden, which I don't need to do. So if you wanted... and didn't mind not having your own kitchen any more, you could have mine instead."

Makoto willed herself not to faint as the last of her blood congregated in her cheeks. "Rei, have I ever told you your outbursts are cute?"

"What? No. If you don't want to you can just say so. I mean, I know you'll have stuff you want to do after uni, so I don't want to tie you down or anything. It's just an option."

And what did Makoto want to do after she did finally graduate? Keep cooking, probably. Maybe move on from Matsubashi's noodle shop and get a little stall of her own? Maybe keep working for him full time, since the customers obviously liked her and her noodles.

"My lease comes up in the summer."

"... really?"

"Yes really! But you realise if you let me move in, that becomes *my* kitchen, and you *will* be picking up your wretched socks-"

She didn't get to finish as Rei grabbed her by the collar and pulled her into a heavy, passionate kiss. Makoto almost choked before she realised what Rei was trying to do and reciprocated, though less wantonly.

Eventually Rei did let her go, after her lips had calmed down a little, and Makoto could see tears in her eyes. "What? You didn't think I was going to turn you down, did you? I don't come up here this often for my spiritual wellbeing, you know. I'm in love with you, you dolt."

Rei just pulled her close and held her, burying her head in Makoto's arms. In a few months she might be saying 'welcome home' to her after all, and it set Rei's heart aflutter. "Stupid Makoto. I love you."

000

Hotaru beamed at her little baby sister, nestled in Haruka's arms. It had seemed like an age, but the little girl was finally out of her incubator and free of all that plastic tubing, and apparently much more comfortable for it.

"Don't you listen to them Miran-chan," she told the little docile girl. "Of course you're going to be cranky if you're full of tubes. Not any more though."

She looked up to her Haruka-papa, who seemed to agree with the assessment. "Yes, you are being very well behaved for us now we're getting out of here, aren't you? Clearly I'm not the only one who has issues with hospital food."

A voice from the door made them turn. "It may not be blue ribbon cuisine, but it does the job, Haruka-san."

"Auntie Mizuno!"

Katsura swallowed her obvious flusteredness at Hotaru's exclamation, and smiled to the quartet; Haruka, Hotaru, Miranda and Michiru, who were preparing the cot-pram. "I thought I would poke my head in and see you before you left. It's strange to think, isn't it?"

"For some of us more than others," Haruka agreed. "Would Grandma like to hold her now she's out and about?"

"Oh Lord, Haruka-san. But just a moment, if I may?"

Hotaru watched, almost studiously, as the seemingly boneless baby passed from mother to grandmother, content to be nestled into the crux of another arm after some minor complains. "Oh, I know dear," Katsura whispered, bouncing her just a little in a way Miranda evidently found calming. "I'm not mummy, but you'll have her and all these other girls looking after you, and I probably won't see you until I can find a reason to visit."

"Mizuno-sensei," Michiru chastised gently, "you know you're welcome any time."

"Thank you, dear, but finding a convenient time is always an issue, it seems. Besides, at least you can guarantee you won't find me a bother." She forestalled any further reply by passing Miranda back to Haruka, who took her much more gingerly than Katsura had done. Clearly Haruka was in kid gloves mode, and Hotaru wasn't sure she'd ever seen her more carefree parent being quite so care-*ful*. "Please, give my regards to Setsuna-san. We shall have to find time to meet again."

"I'm sure she'd like that," Hotaru assured her. "It's nice to see Setsuna-mama getting out of the house."

"I'm sure. Safe journey."

With a round of farewells, including a very grateful one from Haruka to the entire hospital, Miranda was settled into her cot and perambulated down to the car they had in the parking lot. It was a minor point, but Haruka insisted that she drive her daughter home at last. Not that she wouldn't have been the de-facto driver under any other circumstance, but she'd been clear on that.

And again, the thrumming of the car seemed calming to Miranda, sending her back off to sleep again. Hotaru thought that was strange. Surely the bouncing and jiggling would have disturbed her instead.

But the trip lasted no time at all while Hotaru observed their sleeping family addition, and they debarked knowing that they would find Ami and Setsuna making the last minute adjustments to the house. There was a little adventure creche set up in the expansive living room – not that Miranda would be adventuring anywhere for a while yet, but they did grow up fast, as Mizuno-sensei, Setsuna, and just about everyone else had been telling Hotaru for ages now.

Michiru let them all in, to be met with Ami and Setsuna's smiling faces. "Welcome home!"

Hotaru turned to Miranda, once again being pushed by a very proud mother. "Welcome home, Miranda-chan!"

"Yep," Haruka agreed. "And about time too kiddo."

000

The End

000

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